Brink of Delusion
by 134340Goat
Summary: Halfway fanfic, halfway original story. This is a retelling of sorts of the original Final Fantasy. The plot itself is relatively intact, but I have driven out the unoriginal elements of 1987 and added my own.
1. Prologue

_In the faraway world of Nordia, the kingdom of Cornelia is in degrade. The once luscious green, fertile lands are now replaced by deserts. The once plentiful rivers and lakes are dried up. The once clean, pure air now has a lingering stench that is hard to breathe in. Fires are destroying what little green is left. All this is because the four great crystals, one for each element, have been stripped of their magical healing qualities. The four Guardians of the crystals are now evil, and running rampant around the land, spreading pain and destruction wherever they go. What was once a great, utopian land, is now a wasteland. Very little remains. It has been 200 years since the crystals were lost. Many have lost their lives to pointless war and fighting. People always argue over even the littlest amount of food. It is hard to find drinkable water. Life as people know is on the brink of collapse. Harmony and stability are now chaos and discord. People believe that the gods have abandoned them. Now, there seems to be no hope for the revival of Cornelia. But, it was on this very day, right here in this time, that a young knight of Cornelia, Kain, is preparing for a personal audience with the king himself... _


	2. Chapter 1: The King's Audience

It was an average day for those who lived in Cornelia City. The sun was out, the grass was green and it was one of the few places that still had a constant fresh water supply. But everyone knew it would not last. The king himself knew it. Kain knew it too. That was why the king had asked for his presence. All Kain was told is that whatever his majesty had in mind, it would settle this global disaster. As Kain was heading down the hall to the king's chamber, he quickly checked himself in the mirror on the wall just outside the door. He wanted to make a good impression for the king as a knight with 15 years of experience. He'd stopped traitors, prevented important assassinations, single-handedly stopped the forest imps from robbing the treasury, and had faithfully served both Cornelia and its king. He gussied himself up at the mirror, making sure the horns on his helmet that stuck straight up in the air were filed to a point. He made sure that his armor that completely covered his torso and legs were the usual shiny blue. He adjusted his white fabric battle skirt that went down to the knees, given only to those who reached the highest rank in the kingdom. He fixed the wrinkles in his yellow cape of the same material, and lastly ruffled the coarse strings jutting out of his helmet between the horns. Kain never took time to notice, but strangely it seemed his light purple eyes seemed to be misty, as if it was inside his iris. This was often a sign of upcoming greatness in Cornelia, though maybe he was just seeing things. Kain seemed to be getting slightly paler in the face every day. Some small strands of his long, silver hair were falling out of his helmet. Just before he went in, he noticed one thing: his sword was out of its scabbard. What was a knight without his sword? And more importantly, it was passed down through the generations, since before even the time of the Crystals! But then, he noticed that he was holding it in his hand. It was a huge relief that he hadn't lost it. Not only was it extremely effective, but it was such a fine blade. A hard iron grip, a guard made of gold, and a blade made of pure steel. A small crystal pendant attached to the bottom of the hilt had small dangling red tethers coming out of it. The blade itself was a spectacle. Starting with a red mysterious jewel attached to the golden guard, the bronze tinted blade started out wide, with two spikes coming out the side, one on the left coming out almost immediately, the larger one on the right jutting out a few centimeters ahead. The blade then started thinning out, until it reached a fine tip at about 4 feet long. He figured he'd left the king waiting more than long enough, so he quickly entered the room, with sword in holster. Normally, the king did not see knights in person. After all, how many knights got to meet the king himself? Kain feared no man or beast, but the one fear in his mind right now was disappointing the king. It was truly an honor, discussing how to resolve a world crisis. Kain entered the room regally, taking a brisk but relaxed walk into the room.

"Ahh, Kain, there you are. I was beginning to worry you wouldn't make it." The king was a rather eccentric man. He always wore classic red robes with a white fuzzy trim. Underneath, he wore a black shirt with a green belt across his golden colored pants. This day in particular, the king's hair was rather messy, showing a few small bald spots throughout his nearly all white hair. The one thing the king never wore, strangely, was a crown.

"Sir, I believe you summoned me. It is great honor to be in the presence of-" Kain was cut off by the king.

"Oh, you don't have to use all these honorifics and whatnot with me, Kain. Just call me Hatious; my name."

"Uh, very well, sir- I mean Hatious. Why is it that you have summoned me?" Kain was permitted to refer to his majesty by name? Was something about to happen, or had the king lost it in his old age? His hair and mustache were completely white now, after all.

"It's my daughter, Kain. She's been kidnapped by a rogue knight who goes by the name of… oh what was it? Gear…Gila… something or other? I don't remember" the king laughed a little.

"Me and my old age, eh Kain? Well anyway, it must have happened overnight. I remember her going to her chambers for the night, but she was gone this morning. All that was left was a sword belonging to a captain of the guard; this Gur-something-or-other."

"I take it you want me to locate her, sir?"

"Yes Kain. She could be anywhere, but she won't be far. She can't have gone too far in such little time. You will need something to protect yourself with from the danger of the forests. Here, come up and take this."

Now Kain was receiving a gift from the king? This was all too much for one person to handle in one day. Even for a knight such as Kain, who'd been raised in a tough environment since boyhood. He slowly, cautiously walked up the steps to the king's throne. The king pulled something out from behind his chair. It was a shield!

The king said, "You may not know this, Kain, but my family line wasn't always in royalty. We used to be just like you. All that changed when one of my ancestors married into a rich family who had luck on their side, when the crystals were still powerful. The color even matches you helmet and armor!"

As Kain took it, he noticed how great of a shield it was. Made out of the same blue and yellow metal as his armor, it shined in the light from the windows. It was shaped like a triangle, and concave to help defend himself.

"Ideal for defense, and if you want, you can bash a troublesome goblin's head in!" The king said, chuckling a little to himself.

"Now Kain. I think you should know, we've been getting a lot of news about trolls roaming in the woods. If you should happen to come across one, do not feel weak or ashamed to avoid it."

"Of course, your majesty. I shall leave at once."

Kain started to walk away, then the king said,

"Good luck, Kain. Oh, and Remember, it's _Hatious_."


	3. Chapter 2: So That is His Name

Walking through the forest looking for a person Kain didn't know was an odd feeling. He didn't even know if he was looking for a small girl or a young lady. The common myth of the Cornelian folk was that the princess had very low self-esteem, deeming herself hideous. For this reason, she never showed her face in public. Kain did not know if this was true, but he did know that she would be somewhere with a former Cornelian knight. He had been searching for hours. But this was all worth it. It was for the king, or rather to Kain now, Hatious. He was looking behind every tree, by every boulder and near any stream. After searching for a while, everything seemed the same. A bunch of trees, maybe a few rocks or bushes and the occasional stream were just repeating over and over. Eventually, ten minutes became an hour, and an hour became several. Kain was becoming drenched in sweat and beginning to feel weary. Several hours of searching eventually lead to twilight. He must have traveled at least 25 kilometers. After walking past a bush, he noticed something on the ground out of the corner of his eye. He bent down to pick it up. It was a small, torn piece of silky, purple fabric. Could this have been the princess's? Kain had to find out. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled. He was very hungry. So hungry, that even clean stream water no longer satiated his stomach. He'd already eaten all his rations. He hadn't expected the search to take nearly this long. Just one nibble of some nice, tender, steaming meat would be good. Just the thought of some cooked meat was so enticing, a big, juicy hunk of meat…. Kain could picture it greatly, and he could practically smell it… wait…. Just a small flicker… something in the air… Kain did smell meat! He looked around a corner, and right in the middle of a small clearing was a wooden caravan that had a yellow translucent window and a padded red roof, with smoke coming out the pipe! But something was wrong with the caravan. He couldn't quite figure it out. Suddenly, a goblin came out of the door! Kain quickly crouched behind a tree, peeking around the corner. The goblin didn't seem to notice. The goblin went out of sight and returned quickly with a stack of firewood in his arms. As he went back in, the smoke coming out the pipe intensified. Kain knew they were cooking something now! He quietly unsheathed his sword, and slowly approached the caravan. He went around the side of it, and when the goblin came out, Kain planned on ambushing him. Finally, that moment came, and Kain quickly jumped the goblin. As he grabbed the goblin by the shoulders, it started crying out something in Goblin language, something Kain couldn't understand. Kain took a moment to process the goblin's appearance. His green skin was covered by a bright yellow tunic and brown pants. His metal boots seemed to be a rather impractical choice, considering the goblin was only about half as tall as a human. The goblin's pointed ears had holes in them right in the center, his right ear having a bronze ring in it. Kain said,

"I intend you no harm, but I must insist you give me some of your food. I have been traveling these forests since dawn, and I haven't had anything in hours, now please, allow me inside."

The goblin responded in English, in a very high pitched voice,

"Ohhhh, a weary traveler. Well you shouldn't have come to Goblin territory!" The goblin started shouting in his language, then suddenly something hit Kain's armor in the back, then bounced off. He released the goblin, who quickly scrambled away. He turned back and saw a rock on the ground, then he felt an impact on his chest. Kain saw an arrow hit the ground. Then another one landed in the grass next to him. Then he realized what was going on. The goblin must have called for help! Kain quickly sprang to his feet, and dashed away, mourning the meat he never knew. It was a barrage of arrows, coming from over a hill. Abruptly, the goblin he'd threatened earlier stuck his foot out and tripped Kain, causing him to drop his sword. The goblin then took it, and sprinted away. Kain cursed the goblin under his breath. Looking back, the goblin shouted,

"Hahahaha! Stupid human, you fell right into his trap!" His? Who was "He"? At any rate, Kain started to run after the goblin, but the shower of arrows returned. Thinking quickly, Kain took his shield from his back and put it over his head as he ran toward the hill. It was working! In his teen years, as a homeless man before he became a knight, he'd used a similar tactic when pick pocketing people, but instead of a shield, it was a trash lid. He finally reached the goblin and smashed into him. This caused the goblin to fall. Kain then used the goblin as a living shield, and luckily, the arrows immediately stopped coming. Kain released the goblin and picked up his sword.

"Now, as I said before, I never wanted to hurt anyone but if you provoke me, I won't hold back." It was almost totally dark out know. The goblin sneered at him, then started walking away. As Kain sheathed his sword, the goblin shouted something out, and suddenly, the archers that were previously shooting at him started charging at him, sword-first. Kain then took out his sword and put it at his side, with his shield in the other hand. All at once, they charged at him, and he rolled out of the way of most, then he jumped up, catching one by surprise. He took the opportunity to stab him. He then went between two other goblins who happened to swing at Kain simultaneously. Kain ducked down, and they ended up slashing each others throats, killing them. Only two remained. Kain slashed his sword downward at one, and blocked a hit from the other with his shield. The goblin he attacked blocked the hit with its sword, and nimbly rolled between his legs. Kain turned around and knocked that goblin down with his shield, then spun around and slashed the other one with a left cut through the stomach. Still living, the goblin made a half hearted attempt at a swing, which Kain parried with a hard horizontal swing of his own, which knocked the sword out of the goblin's hand, giving Kain the opportunity to quickly stab it's throat. He turned again and saw the goblin he'd knocked down getting up, and as soon as the goblin saw what happened, he ran away. Just before that goblin had fled, Kain noticed that its nose had been twisted several degrees by the blow of the shield. Kain walked a bit, then found the one who'd started it all.

"Whaaaat?! How did you defeat my men so quickly? No matter, Truffles, come!"

"Truffles?" Kain asked. But then Kain found out who Truffles was. A troll came out from behind a large tree, carrying a giant wooden club. The goblin started giggling.

"Hee hee hee, this'll teach you for threatening a goblin that still has a few tricks up its sleeves!" The goblin scrambled into his caravan, letting his apparent pet take care of its business. Kain took a few steps back. The troll was at least 15 feet tall, and it was hideous. The face was revolting. It looked like a pig's snout mixed with the rear end of a donkey. Its grey skin looked like it had been mangled several times over, and the leather breastplate it had on was old and rotten. The club was at least the size of Kain, if not bigger. It was surprising that such scrawny arms could hold it, let alone swing it. It was also a wonder its mangled, quill thin legs could support its fat body. Kain had to think of something. The meat was too good to pass up. He quickly found a large rock, and threw it at the approaching troll's head. It hit its head, and Kain could see he'd made quite the bruise. No blood, though. A low rumbling sound came from the troll as strands of saliva drooled from its chin. The sound was something Kain thought was groaning. The troll then seemed to get angry, and it grabbed the club in both hands, and started running towards Kain. Kain tried to pick up another rock, but as he was bending down, surprisingly fast, the troll swung it's club, and it hit Kain on the side of the chest, the impact of the blow was so hard, it sent Kain flying a few meters into a tall oak tree. If not for his armor, Kain might have broken a rib. He had to be more cautious. But he noticed something, or rather thought he'd noticed something…. Had the tree shifted when he hit it? Yes, it had! Kain quickly thought up a plan. As the troll swung his club again, Kain rolled out of the way, and the troll hit the tree. It shifted a great amount this time. Kain leaned up against the tree, then as the club began swinging again, Kain lied on his back at the last moment, and the tree got hit. It was on the verge of toppling. Kain got up, ran to the other side of the tree, and started slashing at the root of it with his sword. He ran back to the side the troll was on, then got the troll's attention. Kain started running in serpentine patterns. The troll was stupid, and followed his exact path. Kain eventually got it to where he was slashing at the tree earlier, and he stood down by the tree's root. The troll swung it's club in a downward arc at Kain, then at the last second Kain jumped, and actually stood on top of the club! Stunned, the troll just stared at him, then as the troll realized what Kain did, he started shaking the club. Kain simply jumped off. He threw his sword perfectly straight towards the tree's root, and it landed right in it. Suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise. The troll stiffened up, then started looking around, wondering what had made it. Kain knew exactly what was going on. There was another cracking noise, and another following that one. Then there were many cracking noises, all at once. Slowly, the tree started tilting, making a wooden creaking noise. Kain was hoping it wasn't a hollow tree. Then, very rapidly, the tree started falling right in the troll's direction. Kain dashed toward the tree, and with a roll, grabbed his sword just before it hit him, and quickly looking up, he saw that the troll finally figured out what was happening, but a second too late. The troll was crushed, a pool of blood forming around it. Kain had beaten that which the king, Hatious, had warned him to avoid. He felt empowered, somehow, and a new strength entered him. Kain still had one thing left to do, though. He casually walked up to the door, knocked and waited. The door started to open, then Kain heard the goblin's voice,

"Good work Truffles, here's your treat. Enjo-" the goblin was cut off by Kain smashing in his head with the shield, just like how the king had joked about. The goblin started moaning,

"Aghhh! You arrogant, human! You just fractured my skull, I think! Ugh, it hurts so much!"

"Relax, I could have hit you harder. Now all I request is a place to stay for the night and a meal. I'll only ask you this one last time."

"Wait, if you're here… alive… that means… you bested my pet?"

"Yes, I did. Now, your answer?"

"Oh great knight, I thank you!" The goblin suddenly hugged Kain around the knees, as tall as the goblin was. Kain was just dumbfounded.

"You see, knight, that beast is what was holding me back! Garland was holding me prisoner, and-"

"Garland! So that is his name…" Kain interjected.

"Umm, yes, that's who it was. He needed one more cell to make room for some wench he caught. Anyway, he offered to free one of us if we agreed to kill the knight that was after him. I was chosen, but he used that troll to keep me in check, so I didn't try anything stupid, but now that you've vanquished it, I'm truly freed! Please, stay the night and eat as much as you like, it's all I can give you. I'll go find my family somewhere out here."

"I wish you the best of luck, then. Oh, and I'm sorry about your head, it should be healed soon."

"Take whatever you want from here, this isn't my caravan anyway." With that, the goblin ran off through the woods, free from the traitor, Garland's control. Kain felt good knowing he'd helped this creature. But what about the other goblins? And the troll? Was it by their will, or had Kain slain innocent life? One could never tell anymore. There was so much war and bloodshed these days, it's impossible to tell…

Kain decided to rest at the caravan for the night, and resume the search tomorrow. But now, there was a delicious, meaty feast to be had.

_**"**__Sir Garland, there is a siege going on in Pravoka." The king told him. Kain, making a fist, said,_

_ "It's probably those pirates again! Let's go and drive them out!" Garland turned to Kain._

_ "Settle, down, squire! We know not what it is, yet. If it is indeed pirates, we shall attempt to peacefully sway them!" Garland's deep, booming voice seemed to nearly rattle the windows. Kain couldn't tell what his knight, Garland was thinking, because his face was constantly concealed by his large horned helmet. Kain quietly went to his knee. _

_ "Sorry, Master Garland. It won't happen again." Garland stepped forward._

_ "Know your place, boy! Follow your own destiny!" The king raised his hand up and said,_

_ "Now, Garland, do go easy on the boy. He's just recovered." Garland turned to the king and dropped to one knee. _

_ "Yes, Sire. What is our assignment?"_


	4. Chapter 3: Fallen From the Trees

It was a new day, and Kain was well rested and full. He finished what little leftovers there were, and headed out. He decided to stay in the direction he was going originally, and after journeying a few miles, he was in an area with fewer trees. About 18 meters to his left was a river. He was near the coast. Eventually, he ran into another man, and he had a large burlap bag he was carrying over his shoulders. Kain approached the man and said,

"Greetings. I am a Cornelian knight, sent by the king himself to find someone. Have you by chance found a prison of some sort around here, or at least some sort of structure?"

"No, but I did find this!" He put his bag on the ground and opened it. Inside, Kain saw several adamantine knives, the nearly trademarked weapon of the primitive tree dwelling forest imps, infamous for mischief.

"Interested? If you are they're 15 gold pieces each," the man said.

"No thank you, but those belong to forest imps. Have you seen any?"

"Not a single one. They left all this down by the coast. Why would they though?"

"I don't know" Kain said, "But I believe you may have helped me on my journey."

Kain wandered off in the direction of the coast. After about a half an hour of traveling, he'd reached the coast where there were no trees for a while. But there was nothing. Not even a fisherman's shack. Kain walked along the coast, but didn't find one sign of life. He'd given up hope about this area. He started to head back. But then, after a couple of hours, he noticed a great grey object in the distance. He started running towards it, full of renewed hope. But suddenly, out of a tree came a forest imp! Kain hopped back and the imp fell on the ground, landing face first. It got up, and scurried up to Kain. It's eyes were completely black. It was a little stump of a creature, albeit thin. It stood at about 2 and a half feet tall and with a decayed like skin and texture. It wore an orange striped armor plate that was a bit too big for him.

"Hand over all your treasure!" it said in a high pitched, squealing voice.

"I have nothing to give you, now if you will excuse me, I'm in a rush!"

"No treasure, ehhh?" it said, blocking Kain's path. "That's a pretty nice sword you've got there… I think I'll have it!"

"I won't be giving up this sword. It is my solemn oath to Cornelia, its king, and my family to protect this land. I am in no mood to be dealing with the likes of you, now leave me"

Kain started to walk away, but the little imp ran in front of him.

"Okay, okay… uh, maybe we can make a deal?"

"No, nothing you offer me can sway my decision."

"I'll trade you?"

"No."

"Give you something?"

"No!"

Kain started walking away, but the imp started walking with him.

"I'll give you loads of gold!"

"For the last time, I'll never give you this sword."

"Okay, last offer: I give you all my treasure!"

"I don't need treasure, I have all I need back home."

"Oh, there must be something I can do for it?" The imp said with an exasperated groan.

"I'll be continuing to that building now, so please leave." The imp seemed surprised.

"There?" the imp pointed. "The old shrine?" Kain stopped, and so did the imp. Kain looked the imp in the eyes, and it looked back at his.

"Shrine?" Kain asked.

"Come on, I'll show ya!" Kain was very surprised at this imp's lazy manner of speech. The imp reached up with it's long arm which was twice the size of its short, slender body, and grabbed Kain's hand. They started running towards the so called shrine. When they reached it, Kain realized something about it. It was so familiar, like something out of an old manuscript…

"Imp, how do you know this place?" Kain asked.

"First off, _human,_ I do have a name. It's Meeg. Anyway, I've been around a bit. I am 55 years old. That's about 20 in your years."

"Not to say this will be a lasting relationship, but I am Kain. Pleased to meet you, Meeg."

The imp seemed to want to smile for a second. But he shook it off.

"Anyway, that sword of yours… I do have one more proposition for you: What if I… oh, I dunno, accompanied you on your exploration through here?"

"You couldn't do that. It's far too dangerous for somebody like you. You'd be killed almost immediately."

"I can handle myself just fine, uh… Kahn"

"Kain!" he corrected the imp, Meeg.

"Sorry, eesh. Anyway, I'm more than capable of defending myself! Watch!" Meeg took out a knife, and started swiping at the air, rolling around and jumping. On one swing, he hit a rock with his wrist as he spun around, and he grabbed his wrist and dropped his knife, then started moaning. Kain said,

"And such a great warrior you are. I'll be going now."

"I'll be following you then."

"Please, I don't wish to endanger another life." Kain started walking away again, but Meeg just followed him.

"You can't stop me! I'm going with you no matter what!" He said with a bit of a whine. Meeg continued,

"Maybe my word is my oath to Cornelia and stuff. Maybe I don't even want that sword anymore."

Kain was actually contemplating letting the little thing come along, but his mind kept saying not to. Kain said,

"I simply don't want an innocent life to be in vain. Even if you want this sword or not." He reached down to his scabbard to pull it out, but it was missing. He looked back to see if he dropped it, but quickly spun back around to Meeg.

"You! You little pickpocket! And you're trying to get on my side!" Meeg then took the sword from behind his back, where it was obviously hiding, being at least four times as big as Meeg.

"Sorry, it's kind of a habit or hobby." Kain then realized something: maybe this Meeg would be useful, after all.

"You do this kind of thing… often?" Kain asked as Meeg handed him his sword back.

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I am an expert thief. Anything that's not bolted down and/or on fire, I can steal."

"I'm assuming you'd have to be pretty quick and agile to be such a thief?"

"Why, of course!" Meeg stood there, studying Kain's face carefully. Meeg could tell Kain was contemplating something. Kain said,

"Fine then. But I'm not responsible for you. You know the risks, Meeg."

"Oh thank you… Kine!"

"Meeg," Kain said slowly, "our names have the same amount of letters. If I can remember yours, I'm sure you can remember that mine is KAIN! K-A-I-N." The duo started walking again.

"Uh, right… Kain," Meeg said. "Anyway, we're at the temple now, so let's-" Meeg was cut off by another voice, a familiar one,

"There! That's the one who killed them!" Kain and Meeg turned to see a goblin with a small horde of other goblins.

"Déjà vu…" Kain said, "You again! Wait, no… you're-" The memory flashed into Kain's head. Kain noticed that this goblin had a crooked nose. It was the goblin he knocked down with his shield but didn't finish! Meeg quietly said to Kain,

"Previous affiliation?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Drawing his sword, Kain said,

"If any time, now's the time to prove to me you can fight." With that, Kain charged toward the goblin gang, alongside Meeg, who'd pulled out his knife.


	5. Chapter 4: Proof

Kain was slicing with his sword while Meeg jabbed at them with his knife. Kain saw two goblins swing their sword downward at him at once, so he blocked them both at the same time with his sword, so that both small blades were pushing down on his. Kain bashed their swords upward with his shield, then quickly sliced to the right just at the goblins' chest level, slicing both of them, killing them. He turned to see that Meeg had already killed 5 of them, leaving one more and the goblin from before. Kain saw Meeg get slashed at by the random goblin's sword, then Meeg rolled between the goblin's leg, and as he rolled, just as he was directly underneath the goblin, he stuck his knife up right into the goblin's… *ahem* weak point. That goblin died, leaving only the goblin that ran away from before. Kain started running towards the goblin, but Meeg was quick, and he jumped towards the goblin, landed on the goblin's chest with his feet pushing against it, and wrapped his arms around the goblin's neck, holding his knife backwards, thus shoving the knife into the goblin's neck, all within 2 seconds.

"Told you I could fight," Meeg said to Kain somewhat boastfully as he hopped off the dying goblin. Kain just stared in awe.

"Too much for you?" Meeg asked. Then Meeg realized Kain wasn't looking at him, but at the building. Meeg hopped towards Kain and waved his hand in front of his face.

"Uhh, Kain, you with me, here?" Kain quietly replied,

"I don't believe it…" Meeg turned around at the structure, then he said,

"Ohhhhh, I see. Wow… uh, this… is… HEAVY!" Kain and Meeg both realized something amazing. Kain was amazed by the little stubby Meeg's fighting prowess, yes. But what had truly amazed both him and the small imp, was the building Kain had accidentally found, by accidentally meeting his new friend, which he found by being chosen by the king Hatious. Kain and Meeg were standing right in front of the entrance to the legendary, mythological Chaos Shrine.


	6. Chapter 5: The Chaos Shrine

Kain and his new ally, Meeg walked cautiously into the mystical shrine through a huge opening, large enough for even a troll such as the one Kain had slain. The outside was still a polished, magnificent white, but the inside was very grey and dusty. Being in a place that was thought not to exist… it didn't feel right. But Kain was certain this was where Garland and the princess were. Some of the stone doors were forcefully opened, smashed into several pieces. Most rooms were small, containing only fallen statues and faded paintings. While they were exploring, Kain explained to Meeg everything that had happened to him: the audience with Hatious, the king, meeting the goblin with the caravan, defeating the troll, and everything that had happened up until they'd met. Meeg said,

"So Kain, you're… a Cornelian knight then. I'm a lowly forest imp. Who'd have thought we'd ever meet in this big world. I mean, everything that's happened to you has been totally random. How I met you was random. Lemme tell ya how it happened. I got bored, so I stole the imp chief's toy, so I got kicked out. A bird stole my knife, so I climbed up in that tree to get it. When I did, I lost my balance and fell off right in front of you. If I didn't get banished, If that bird didn't take my knife at that exact moment… and If I hadn't lost my balance, I would have avoided you in the first place. In a way, I'm glad we met."

"Why are you so glad? I'm a knight and as you said, you're 'just an imp.' Why be so joyous?" Meeg thought about that for a second. He finally ended up saying,

"Well… now I have a friend…" He quietly said. They both stopped. Kain said,

"You… consider me… a friend?"

"Well, yeah. I've… never had one before…" Kain felt bad for the little guy. But what Kain felt wasn't just sympathy, it was completely and totally empathy. Kain said,

"Meeg, I've never had a person to call a friend, either. I was born into a poor family. After the Crystals disappeared, we never got into knighthood again. We did keep this sword, though."

"Ohhh, so that's why I can't have it"

"And you still can't. Anyway, my entire family died in the Great Cornelian Famine when I was a boy. I became very sick, but as you can see, I'm still here to tell the tale. All I had were my clothes and this sword. I had to steal or scavenge for food. I never had any friends, anyone to help me or look after me… it was a hard life. But once during a parade to show the world Cornelia's new king, King Hatious, I was inspired by 'the people wearing the shiny metal.' That's what I called them. Since then, I'd always wanted to be a knight. I went to page academy and helped out a knight called Sir Garland. He was my idol, my hero. The man I wanted to be. But now… he's kidnapped the princess. All respect I had for him is now gone. Anyway, I was quickly promoted to squire, once again being Garland's assistant. By the time I was 19, I was a full fledged knight. I never much spoke to Garland after that. We kind of just parted ways. But now I have a chance to see him again, and I can see what's happened to him. We should get going. We've got a princess to rescue and it's getting dark outside."

Kain and Meeg explored for a while in the abandoned, destroyed shrine. It was a sad thing. The once shining marble floor was now shattered stone. The once magnificent idols to the gods were crumbled to a fine dust now. It's what 3000 years does to a place. Voices echoing in the dark, abandoned shrine, Meeg asked,

"So why is this place called a 'Chaos' Shrine? I get that it's an old mystical temple kind of thing, but why Chaos?" Kain explained,

"Well, Chaos was the name of an evil god that older civilizations believed in. It was said that Chaos was responsible for all negative emotions and all war. They built this shrine to appease him in hopes that he would have mercy. After a while, though, people started worshipping Chaos, doing what they thought he wanted. That lead to a 500 year war. The Chaos worshippers won, but legend says they were punished by the one they worshipped, Chaos, for taking away his chance to destroy. Afterward, people found four crystals at the bottom of Crescent Lake, given to them by the Peace gods. They found out that they were able to restore balance to the world after the war. Of course, now those crystals are lost. I guess that's what the king has in mind." Meeg just seemed mystified by the whole story.

"Huh, I had no idea about any of that. So what you're saying is we're gonna fight this Chaos guy?"

"No. Chaos doesn't really exist. He was just an icon to give a reason for violence."

"What about the Peace gods?" Kain paused for a moment, and finally said,

"I don't know, Meeg. If they do really exist, they abandoned us long ago." Meeg, with a surprising hint of wisdom, said,

"Ya ever think that maybe it's a test? Maybe they're trying to see if we inhabitants of the world have what it takes to survive?" Kain, nearly startled by Meeg's theory, said,

"Who knows? I guess we'll just wait and see what this adventure brings." With the conversation apparently over, Kain and Meeg continued searching for the princess.

After a little walking, Kain and Meeg ran into some bats. They were swarming them. Meeg was nearly invisible to Kain, through the huge swarm. Soon there were hundreds of bats. Meeg, shouting over the squeaking of the bats, said,

"Kain! I- I don't think she's in this room!" Kain replied equally loudly with,

"Meeg, we must keep going!" Grunting with effort, they pushed through the swarm, but before they got to the end of the tunnel, Kain heard a scream. It was Meeg.

"Meeg? Are you okay?" There was no answer.

"Can you hear me!?" Still nothing. At last the bats disappeared. Meeg was nowhere to be seen.

"Meeg? Meeg?! Where are you!? Are you okay?" Nothing. Suddenly, Kain heard a deep laugh. It was human, Kain suspected at least six feet tall. Very big, too. The voice echoed off the walls in the bat cave. The bats were all gone, but by a door, Kain saw 4 very large bats. Kain walked towards the door. Before he could open it, the bats stopped him. He swiped them out of the way, but they dug their teeth into Kain's arm, penetrating the armor. He started shaking his arm, and he flung them off. Kain looked at his forearm and noticed that the bats had somehow penetrated his armor and pierced his flesh, drawing blood. Ignoring the pain, he opened the door, and inside, he saw a sad looking young woman wearing a light purple dress behind bars. Her eyes were closed. Standing in the middle of the room was a sword. It was around the same length as Kain's, but vastly different. It was broad, at least 3 feet wide at the start. It slimmed down a little, but even the tip was at least an inch wide. Next to the sword, was a man facing away from Kain, his arms crossed. His purple cape couldn't hide the silver helmet with the protruding metal horns going out each to a different side, and the smaller metal horns next to each other that went up about an inch at the top middle of the helmet. Without budging, the man said in a very deep voice,

"I was expecting you, Kain. Not you, I mean, but rather I knew someone would be coming. I just never expected it to be you." He turned around, and his armor showed nothing, except for one slot across his eyes that showed two glowing yellow circles. He had no gauntlets, which exposed his pale, clawed hands. He had golden bracelets on, each with a front that extended up onto the back of his hand with a large encrusted blue diamond. On both his elbows was another blue diamond, and one more around his belt. His knee pauldrons were shaped like extending demon faces, with the eyes made of small yellow gems. His jewels, cape, and bracelets were the only things that were not silver. He was wearing a mock command skirt, made of metal, it started at his hips and went down just before his knees. In his deep voice, he said,

"I never thought I'd see you again. I didn't even know you were alive…" When he spoke, it was without emotion except he sounded disgusted when he said "alive."

"Where is Meeg?" Kain asked. Garland laughed.

"That is the first question you ask, even after all these years, Kain? I didn't think you even liked nonhumans."

"Is he alive?"

"Well, we shall find out, shan't we…" Garland laughed again, and said,

"Do you remember, Kain? How we used to talk about destiny? If it was real? If we were bound to be something or another. You always said I was bound to be a great hero, and you would never reach true knighthood. Ha ha ha, well do you see where 'destiny' has taken us, Kain? It's gotten us no further than we'd hoped it would.

"Why, Garland? Why are you doing this?"

"Simple. I want to teach that fool of a king a lesson. I wanted to cause him true pain, like he gave to me!"

"What?" Kain asked. Garland again just laughed.

"You don't understand anything, Kain, and you never will. I was forced to join his army, taken from my mother as a boy. Not that you would know. My mother was an angel, the one bright spot in my dark past…"

"Garland, you don't have to do this, you can choose!" They were silent for a minute, the Garland picked up his sword, aimed at Kain, and said,

"Fool! I have already chosen!" Then, unexpectedly, the tip of the sword came off of the main blade, and was flying towards Kain! Hearing a whoosh, Kain jumped to the side, but then Garland moved his sword sideways, and the detached blade followed! Just before Kain could move, it sliced his side, but not badly. Kain then noticed the tip wasn't detached, but connected to a chain. Garland, laughing pushed a button on the hilt of his blade and the chain almost instantly came back in, along with the tip, like nothing had ever happened.

"Ha ha ha! I think you'll like my toy, Kain!" Garland charged toward Kain, then swung his sword upwards at Kain. Kain stepped to the left, then Garland came downward with his sword at that angle. Kain ducked, feeling a breeze off of the strike, and noticed Garland pressed another button. The sword then changed into a great axe, as the tip bent down on some kind of chain mechanism. Garland raised the axe up in the air, then swung it down towards Kain. Kain rolled to his right, but then Garland surprisingly quickly lifted it up and swung down again with enough force to break Kain's armor and knock him down. Kain's entire suit of armor vibrated, and Kain felt a snap in his chest. It just barely pierced through his skin. Garland lifted it out, then changed it back to a sword, looking down at Kain menacingly.

"Pathetic, Kain. Are you even trying?" Kain slowly got up and got his sword and shield ready. Garland, grunting with satisfaction, then pressed a third button on his massive sword and reached up near the tip, about a foot from it, and pulled from the edge of the sword. It disconnected into another shorter sword! Garland had taken a piece off of his gigantic sword to make another one! How had he made such technology? Garland started attacking Kain with both swords, and Kain blocked the smaller sword with his sword, and Garland's larger sword with his shield, both times nearly dropping his sword and shield from the impact. It vibrated through his entire body. Garland lunged forward with his small sword, which was parried by Kain, then Garland swung the larger sword across, getting stuck in Kain's shield. Kain slashed downward, knocking down both the large sword and his shield. Kain stabbed toward Garland, but Garland lifted his arm and blocked the strike with his metal gauntlet, picking up the small sword with his other hand. As he rose up, he swung the small sword at Kain. Kain kicked up the shield with Garland's large sword, then caught it to block the strike. The impact caused the large sword to fall out, which Garland picked up. The two resumed fighting as normal. Eventually, both of Garland's swords and Kain's sword and shield were locked. Kain twisted his sword and forced Garland to drop the smaller sword. Then Kain bashed Garland in the face with his shield, while holding back the bigger sword with his own sword. The feeling of metal against metal was reassuring. Garland stumbled back, and Kain snatched the opportunity to cut Garland across the stomach, straining his arm to cut through the armor. Garland then cried out in pain.

"Errgh, im…pressive, Kain!" Garland swung his one sword at Kain only to be blocked by his shield, but it was enough to slide Kain a few inches back. Dust formed in the air as Kain's metal boots scraped along the ground, making a scratching sound and sending up a spark. Garland picked up his small sword and reattached it. After pressing a fourth button on his sword, its blade sections extended out an inch or 2, making it resemble a very thick lance. Garland lunged it toward Kain, but Kain hopped back to avoid it, slashing it aside. Kain said,

"Garland, I do not wish to kill you, but I will if you force my hand!" Garland then put his sword back to its normal form and said,

"Fool! It isn't my destiny to die!" He then put the sword in its whip- like state and then swung it across the room. Kain seemed to shine in the dark room, then he instinctively jumped unnaturally high. The whip-sword destroyed two pillars, and the debris came flying towards Kain! But Kain, thinking up another ingenious plan, said to Garland,

"Destiny ends here!" He then stepped onto a flying chunk of stone and pushed himself off of it, flying towards Garland, who replied with,

"End it… if you can!" Then as they both passed each other, Kain cutting through the air to Garland, Garland running towards Kain now with his sword back in its normal state, slashed at each other. There then was a groan of defeat, one that would inevitably lead to death…

_ "Swing harder, boy!" Garland yelled to Kain as he practiced his swordsmanship on a wooden dummy. Kain, breathless and face hot and red, paused for a moment._

_ "Did I instruct you to rest?" Gulping in air, Kain said,_

_ "No, Sir Garland." Kain, despite not even thinking he had the strength to lift his sword, struck repeatedly at the training dummy._

_ "Faster, boy, faster!" Almost becoming angry, Kain swung as fast as he could, ignoring the sweat dripping from his brow. Unfolding his arms, Garland said disappointedly,_

_ "Such shoddy swordsmanship. I am ashamed to even call you my apprentice." Garland turned around, his cape swooshing as he turned. As he walked away, Kain screamed out in effort and struck the dummy, slicing clean through the metal and wood, watching the upper half of the body fall to the ground. Kain dropped to his knees, his entire body aching. As Kain's sword clanged on the stone ground of the training courtyard, Garland turned his head and yelled out._

_ "Progress, Kain. You may now rest."_


	7. Chapter 6: Destiny's End

Garland fell to the ground with a grunt, and with great effort, said,

"Congratulations… Kain" He said "Kain" with displeasure, as if saying a word that would not want to be said by anyone.

"You've… won. Go, take your princess and leave." he started laughing, then he suddenly disappeared in a dark mist. When the mist cleared up, any trace of Garland was gone. Kain Put his sword in its holster and his shield on his back under his cape. He walked up to the bars of the cage and looked in at the young woman. She stared back at him with a look of both shock and confusion. Kain said to her,

"Your highness, you may wish to step back for a moment." Complying, the princess took a step back as Kain slashed the lock off of the cage and opened it. The princess quickly walked out of her prison and looked around the room. In a shaking voice, she said,

"I-is he gone? Is it safe?" Kain sheathed his sword, telling the princess,

"I am sure that you are in absolutely no danger, princess." Regaining her composure, the princess pushed back her dirty blonde hair and dusted off her silken dress.

"Right, then. So, where is the rest of the cavalry?"

"I'm not what you expected, milady?"

"What I mean to say is that you can not possibly be all my father sent! All of Cornelia must be searching for me!"

"I can assure you, milady that his majesty was frantic in your absence."

"Well, I expected more than just… you."

"If you'd like, I can leave you here and have your father send someone else." The princess's eyes widened and she flinched a bit.

"How dare you! One word to father, and I could have you executed!" Knowing that she was the rotten, spoiled kind, Kain knew exactly what reaction he'd get. He started walking away. The princess said,

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Expect another knight to arrive in a few days." Kain quietly laughed to himself, then continued walking away. He princess, grunting in frustration, quickly caught up. Just what Kain expected. He said,

"Alright, milady, let us leave this tomb-like place and return to Castle Cornelia." Just as the two walked out of the door of the cell room. Kain noticed the bats from earlier; the ones that had bitten into his arms. They flew away from a corner and revealed poor Meeg's little body.

"Meeg!" Kain ran over to him. He patted his chest, then shook his shoulders. With a cough, Meeg, still with his eyes closed, said,

"Kain… two things. One: What'd I miss?"

"Nothing much, except I killed my old enemy and rescued the princess." The princess, bending over to examine the imp, said,

"Please don't tell me we're going home with such a filthy creature!" Kain turned to her and said in a stern, yet still respectful voice,

"Yes, of course we are. He's a friend." Meeg opened his eyes and Kain winked at him. The princess said with disgust,

"This is disgusting. Send another knight! You know where I'll be." Kain replied,

"Alright, your highness, but if you do-" Meeg cut in with,

"Don't come cryin' back to us!" The princess said,

"Fine! Then I shall return home myself." Kain asked matter-of-factly,

"In the dark? Trekking many miles through woods and forests filled with monsters?" Pouting, the princess said,

"Make it quick!" Kain turned to ask Meeg,

"What's the second thing?"

"Well, uh, Kain… I… have your sword." Then Kain looked to his holster and saw that it was missing. Meeg held it up and Kain took it back.

"You _are_ good, Meeg," Kain said. They all started to leave, and by the time they got to the entrance, it was already morning.

"How long were we in there?" Meeg asked

"Seemed like an hour," Kain said. The princess said,

"With all due respect, I know you had a rough journey coming to save me, but I don't care to hear your tales of adventure. Let us just head home, now!"

Kain never took Hatious to be the type that would spoil their kid.


	8. Chapter 7: Campfire Chats

"My feet are aching!" The princess spouted at Kain and Meeg as they went through a clearing in the woods, remaining close to the brush in case of monster attacks.

"And my back is sore!" She added on. This had been going on for several hours. Kain slowed his pace and said reassuringly,

"We will reach Cornelia Castle very soon. The trip home will be much quicker than the journey to find you." Kain recognized the forests surrounding Cornelia for miles. He had spent years on reconnaissance missions scouting the forests for danger. The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed that no one had ever found the Chaos Shrine, considering its relative proximity to Cornelia.

"I'm also sweating. We must find some shade!" The princess added onto her list of complaints. Meeg nudged Kain's knee.

"Actually, Kain, I can't disagree with this one. It's just about the hottest part of the day, right now." Kain stopped, nodding.

"We shall rest here until her highness is up to continuing." The princess began to sit, but then said to Kain,

"Am I expected to simply sit on the ground? With no cushioning?" By now, Meeg had already taken his place on the ground, then Kain said,

"I am afraid so, milady." The princess slowly sat down, careful not to ruin her dress. The grass they had decided to res in was dried and yellow in the intense sunlight. The only shade came from the towering pine trees next to them. Immediately as Kain sat down, he noticed Meeg looked uneasy.

"Meeg? Is something wrong?" Meeg shifted his position.

"Well, it's just that…this place. We're close to my village."

"The one you were exiled from?"

"Yeah… my chief wouldn't exactly support my returning." The princess raised an eyebrow.

"You creatures have a hierarchical system like we do?" Meeg replied angrily,

"Well of course we do! Where would we be if we had no one to set up laws and stuff?" Looking down for a moment, the princess continued,

"I'd no clue how… civilized you… people were." Meeg rolled his eyes.

"More than the Sahagins, at least." At that cue, Kain pulled from his belt the remains of the Sahagins that he had captured just an hour ago.

"It isn't much, but it's all we have left." Using Meeg's knife, Kain cut the small beast into three pieces, of course giving the princess the largest share. Sahagins were barely intelligent enough to form aquatic villages, yet at the same time, they could develop spears sharper than steel. Kain clutched the wound on his leg, tightening the bandage he'd placed on it. Kain was an expert on wilderness survival, hunting, tracking, and navigating. After eating the Sahagin meat, the three continued the trek back to Cornelia.

Hours later, Kain noticed the Sun was getting low in the sky. Dusk was approaching. Having somehow survived the princess's continual, yet gradually waning complaints, Kain had no plans in dying here. Kain stopped in his tracks, to which Meeg nearly tripped over himself in an attempt to stop and the princess asked,

"Why have we stopped? We're this close to the castle!"

"It grows dark out. We must make camp for the night."

"Camp? So I am expected to sleep with no mattress nor a pillow?" Kain glumly responded,

"We must go foodless, tonight, also." Meeg suddenly jolted.

"Hang on!" He sniffed the air intently, walking toward a large bush. The princess took a seat on the ground next to a large pile of rocks while Kain followed Meeg, curious as to what his acute senses had picked up on. Sniffing, Meeg said to himself,

"Is that… must be… I'm sure it's…" Meeg stopped.

"Kain, you might wanna use this." Meeg handed Kain his sword which he had somehow managed to snatch again without notice.

"What do you smell?" Meeg started walking toward the princess.

"I'll keep an eye on her. Good luck!" Meeg dashed toward the princess, who was watching the whole ordeal. Not knowing what to expect, Kain looked though the bushes to see a very large bird. It was about as tall as Meeg, but much plumper. It appeared to be an Axebeak. Most of the bird's body was very succulent fat, perfect for a dinner. The underside of the bird was a dirty white, while the rest was a light cyan shade. In the place of a normal beak, however, was a large, axe-like blade about a foot tall. It was organic and could grow back if severed, yet was able to pierce armor. Kain had to be careful in approaching the beast. Kain stalked to behind the bird as it fed on the grass under it. Kain began unsheathing his sword, but the Axebeak must have heard the sliding metal, as it looked up at Kain. He quickly drew his sword to stab at the bird, but the Axebeak used its blade to parry Kain's strike, then quickly swung its head into Kain's sword, knocking it out of his hand and sending it sticking into a tree trunk. Kain pulled his shield from its holder and barely blocked the next strike, pushing the Axebeak forward. As Kain put his hand on the hilt of his sword which was stuck in the trunk, he noticed a second Axebeak emerging from a bush. It must have been the first one's mate, as it was female. The female Axebeaks had larger blades than males. Kain tugged at his sword, but it refused to emerge from the trunk. The two Axebeaks slowly began approaching him. Kain kept tugging, just barely inching out the blade. Just as the two birds got to Kain's legs, he had an idea. The Axebeaks simultaneously tilted their heads back, preparing to slice Kain's legs. As they began to move forward, Kain jumped through the air, flipping as he gained height, then landed on the blade of his sword. Missing their target, the two Axebeaks ended up decapitating one another, there ending the fight. Kain jumped off of his sword, pulled it out of the tree, and picked up his two trophies.

Having gathered enough material for a fire, Kain had set up a pit next to where the princess sat. Meeg was busy using his knife to cut up the Axebeaks. He was a distance away, as cutting up an Axebeak caused a rather foul smell. Kain piled up the dry grass and wood in the proper formation. Meeg yelled over to Kain,

"Hey Kain! Having a bit of trouble here! Mind helping?" Kain yelled back,

"In a moment Meeg." Kain turned to the princess,

"Excuse me, a moment, you highness." The princess tiredly said,

"Go on. I shall just… work on this." she pointed to the fire pit. Kain nodded, then began quickly walking to Meeg. Just before he reached him, Meeg managed to cut through the Axebeak's meat.

"Oh, never mind, then Kain." Nodding, Kain turned back around to see the princess's hand in the fire pit. Her wrist flicked just a tad, then the fire started! Was that… Kain ran back to the princess.

"You highness! What did you just…" The princess looked around where she was sitting, seemingly in a panic. She quickly picked up two rocks.

"I simply started a fire." Kain noted that the rocks would be unfit for use as a flint and sparker. Kain did see several others around her, and figured that his exhaustion must have been causing him to see things. Dismissing what he had thought, Kain noticed Meeg running over with the cut Axebeaks.

"Dinner time!" He said cheerfully as he accidentally dropped one of the Axebeaks.


	9. Chapter 8: Just a River Rock

The rest of the trip home was relatively safe. The group never ran into any beasts, and they were safe from the princess' nagging for the most part. Once they all got home, they delivered the princess to her father. As Kain, Meeg, and the princess walked into the audience chamber, the king said,

"Kain, mah boi! You made it back! And you're one man- or rather… imp heavy!"

"Yes your majesty. Your daughter has been safely-" He was cut off by the princess,

"Father! You would never believe how horrid my experience was! No beds, no cushions, no baths… I must rest in my chambers!" The king said,

"But, uh… honey, don't you want to eat first, or- or at least talk to me?"

"I plan to later, Father, but I simply must rest!" The princess began to walk out of the room, but stopped. She seemed to be contemplating something, then walked up to Kain.

"I… I suppose I must thank you for rescuing me. I apologize for my rudeness."

"Of course, your highness." Kain nodded. The princess walked out of the room. Moments after she'd left, a loud shattering sound was heard, most likely of something quite expensive. Meeg scoffed, then said,

"She's royalty all right. A royal pain in the-"

"So Kain, who is this?" the king asked.

Kain explained everything that happened on his quest, Which also eventually became Meeg's. When Kain was finished telling his tale, the king said,

"Well Kain, you certainly had an interesting journey. But it is over, now. I've granted you and your little friend, Meeg permission to sleep in the castle for the next couple months."

"Sir?" Kain asked.

"Ahh, it's Hatious, remember?"  
"Right, of course, Hatious. But I could just return to my home and- "

"But you have just started your quest, Kain." Kain looked up at his king with confusion.

"Here is your reward for rescuing my daughter." Kain and Meeg went up the stairs to his throne, and Hatious handed Kain a small perfectly round stone, no bigger than Kain's fist or Meeg's head, sans big jutting nose.

"What the heck is this thing?" Meeg asked, snatching it. He hit it against the floor, then the king said,

"Ah, Meeg, is it? Please don't do that to it. If you break it, we will all fall into an endless abyss." Kain, taking back the rock, said to Hatious,

"Sir- I mean, Hatious, what is so special about this stone? It's no different than anything I could get down by the river. And what do you mean 'we'd fall into an abyss?'"

"Kain, do you remember why I originally wanted an audience with you? It was to solve this world crisis. Yes, the land here is fine and green, and we still have our water, but how long do you think it will last without the Crystals? What you're holding in your hand, what Meeg just nearly destroyed, is the Earth Crystal."

"You mean… you found them?"

"No, I found this one. I attained it from the Earth Fiend, Lich. It's useless, though. They have all lost their powers." leaning into whisper to Meeg and Kain, he said

"I believe the other Fiends have their respective crystal! Lich had the Earth Crystal, Marilith has the Fire Crystal, Tiamat has the Air Crystal, and Kraken has the Water Crystal! If you, Meeg, and your third team mate can somehow get and restore these crystals, I'm sure you could save this world from becoming an empty husk!"

"Uhhhh, third team mate? Who would it be, Hatious?" with a laugh, Hatious said,

"All in due time, you two. It should take a few weeks to build that bridge, so you two can go get some well deserved rest. I'll tell you this: your third member is the second part of your reward for saving my daughter." Meeg said,

"As much as I hate surprises, I can't wait to do this actually. Saving the world. Then once I go back home, they can't say anything about me! Kain said,

"Very well, Hatious. We'll rest up and get ready for this quest with whomever else will assist us."

"See you soon, Kain," Hatious said. Kain and Meeg left the room, and found their home for the next couple weeks. Meeg said to Kain,

"What do you think this'll be like? I mean our full quest."

"I don't know Meeg. I do know it will be very difficult, I'm certain. But there's one thing I know for sure now."

"What's that?"

"… Now I have a friend."

With that, Kain and Meeg rested for their next journey, eager to meet a new friend.


	10. Transition 1

_Days passed in the Cornelian castle. Days quickly turned to weeks, and weeks, unexpectedly, turned into months. The bridge connecting the landmass of Castle Cornelia and the rest of the continent was under constant attack. It was as though the gods themselves were sending beasts of destruction to stop Kain, Meeg and the rest of Cornelia from saving the world. A month became two, and two became three. The landscape around the edges of the Island of Cornelia Castle was dying. The deprivation of not having the crystals was finally starting to affect the land. After three months of waiting in the castle, Kain and Meeg prepare to resume their quest, and meet their new ally…_


	11. Chapter 9: A Retired Mage

"Meeg, the bridge was finished two days ago. If any day, today would be the day we embark on our journey once more." As usual, Meeg, being the lazy imp he is, procrastinated the resumption of their quest.

"Yeesh, Kain! And I thought you liked the constant feasts and royal luxury treatments." Kain, ignoring Meeg's usual dry humor, replied,

"Not to say I don't appreciate what Hatious has done for us, but we must do this job now. Before it's too late." Kain left the room and started heading to the audience chamber, where the king awaited the two, to inform them of their next quest. Kain was thinking it was odd how Hatious sometimes acted. Not to say he was unloyal, but the king did have rather odd tastes. He'd found Meeg's constant antics amusing, and so appointed him the royal jester, which Meeg himself didn't seem to object to. Meeg caught up with Kain just before he entered the large doors to the king's room. Kain, wearing the same armor from before, now repaired, and Meeg, now in a royal jester's outfit, entered the room. With a hearty laugh, the king said,

"Oh-ho, there you are! Kain, Meeg, how has the castle been? I'm sorry it's taken so long to put the bridge together, but our workers kept getting swarmed by beasts. The bridge barely made any weekly progress. But now it's finished, and it is time to earn the second part of your reward for saving my daughter." Kain was confused. There were no regal items of great value in the king's personal chambers. Only his large bed and vanity mirror. Meeg, impatiently, said,

"Hey, you said you'd send someone with us to help!" Kain said sternly to Meeg,

"You should treat our king with great respect! He trusts us enough to refer to him by name!" The king chuckled at Meeg's silliness and Kain's absolute loyalty.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Kain. I've always found his manner of speech to be funny! Now, this third person to assist you. That is your reward. I've already given you the crystal, yes?" Kain took it off of it's holster hidden under his battle skirt.

"Right here. I've kept it all this time. It is vital to saving the planet."

"Of course my boy, of course you have. Allow me to go and get your new companion, now. I'll be just a moment." The king left the room, leaving Kain and Meeg to wait. Meeg plopped down on the bed, playing with a tear in his shirt. Meeg asked Kain,

"So, whaddya think this guy'll be like?" Before Kain could answer, the door opened again, and the king stepped through. Something was different, though. Instead of wearing his usual outfit, he wore a green robe, completely covering his body. The robe was a kelp green, the lining of it being slightly darker. He wore strange brown shoes that were something like an elf would where. He wore medium green gloves that had a black leather grip on the palm. He wore a pointy green hat with a dark green bandanna just above the brim of it, which extended out about three inches. Kain asked him,

"Hatious, what are you… wearing?" Meeg jumped off the bed and said,

"No offense, but it kinda looks like a carnival outfit." The king smiled and said,

"None taken my little friend. And Kain, this is what I will wear when I accompany you!" Kain literally jumped a bit.

"Sir? Excuse me, but you can't- I mean-" Kain was interrupted by Meeg saying,

"You crazy?! You're gonna die!" The king laughed at Meeg's usual attitude.

"You think in my old age I've lost my skill? Watch this!" The king flicked his hand, and suddenly, his bed combusted! Meeg gasped with surprise, and said,

"Whoa! You're a… mage or something?" The king chuckled and said,

"Oh, just an old retired one. But don't think I've lost my skill. Kain, Meeg, as I'm sure you've figured out already, I'll be accompanying you, myself on this mission. I have but one request, though. Do not treat me like royalty, Kain. Treat me as though I were a friend, like how you treat Meeg. Can you do that?" Kain stood straight up and said,

"Of course, Hatious. It's an honor to have you accompany us." Hatious said,

"Kain, I have complete faith that together, the three of us can help the planet heal itself and revive its life." Meeg, bouncing up and down a bit out of boredom, said,

"So, we gonna get goin' soon?" Hatious laughed and said,

"Meeg, your humor never ceases to amuse me. This should be an enjoyable journey."


	12. Chapter 10: Judging Books by Covers

After all this waiting, Kain didn't know what to think. Finally embarking back on a quest, however much longer than the last. Having been informed of their plan by Hatious, Kain was far less confident than before about the journey. At first, they would travel eastward, vanquishing any man or beast opposing them, and reach the cave that was home to the witch Matoya. There, they would seek advice from her superior knowledge and wisdom. The day they left Castle Cornelia was a day of ambivalence, for the kingdom was glad they were to be saved, but worried for their rather aged king, though Hatious himself denied any fear. The three went over the newly built bridge connecting the countries by coach. After traveling for a week, they had gotten as close as they could to the cave before the risk of being attacked by wild monsters. Hatious, Kain and Meeg had to walk from there. As they were walking through plains, the only trees seeable in the horizon, Kain asked Hatious,

"Will you be all right, sir?" Hatious replied with more confidence than he probably had,

"Fear not, my boy. I will be just fine. We're nearly at Matoya's cave already. It will not be long, now." What he'd said was true, but was the trek there really going to be so easy? Kain had been bothered by one specific question for a while, but hadn't gathered the nerve to ask. Just as he was about to say something, Meeg said,

"Whoa, guys, STOP!" Hatious gave a puzzled look for a second, then Kain noticed what Meeg had seen. There was a long line of Mountain imps marching to the north. They were escorting human prisoners in shackles. The trio hid behind some shrubbery and rocks, and Meeg whispered,

"Who are they? Why do they have those prisoners?" Kain said in a low voice,

"They look like imps, but not like you. They're different. The prisoners, I can't say." Hatious said softly to the both,

"They're mountain imps! From the far north. They must be taking the prisoners to a nearby town, judging from the small number of them." Kain said,

"Pravoka, perhaps?"

"I don't know, Kain, but I won't let them get away!" Kain just stared at someone he once thought would act entirely differently. Hatious started to get up, and Meeg said,

"Are you crazy? They'll kill you!"

"Don't worry, I've got the situation handled, my friend!" Hatious walked out of their cover, and walked towards the imps. He shouted out,

"In the name of the king of Cornelia, stop right there!" The imps stopped, turned around, and laughed. One said in a voice far more gravely then Meeg's,

"An old man? Just kill the human, it's worthless when it's gone stale." A surprisingly burly imp pulled out a knife and started walking towards him. Kain started to get up, but Meeg pulled him back. Kain looked at Meeg with frustration, but one look from his eyes told everything. Maybe Kain shouldn't worry so much about his king, after all. The imp with the knife approached Hatious, who said,

"I would stop right there, if you know what's best for you, young one." The imp laughed and started to swing the knife, but it stopped just in front of Hatious. The imp grunted in surprise. Kain realized what Hatious had conjured up; a force field of some kind! What else had Cornelia's king kept secret from the world? The shield then burst outward in a yellow wave, which knocked back the imp! Hatious said,

"This will be your last warning, if you don't back off, I shall be forced to continue!" The imp got up, then ran at Hatious. Just as it started to swing down, Hatious moved to the left… or had he? What Kain thought he saw was Hatious teleporting! It looked as though he'd adjusted his position without even moving a muscle! There was a flickering illusion left where he used to stand, which quickly vanished. Hatious then flicked his fingers, and the imp was frozen in a giant block of ice, then Hatious pointed at the ground, and a pillar of rock came up and shattered through the frozen imp. All the others drew their swords and knives, and charged at Hatious. The elderly mage flicked his wrist forward, and a small black hole appeared in front of the imps, then as they went through it, they suddenly appeared 50 feet up in the air. They all fell, and only one survived it. He limped towards Hideous cautiously at first, but then ran away. Hatious then seemed to teleport in front of him, again leaving a trail of illusions of him behind, which instantly vanished. He grabbed the imp's head, and small blue tendrils came out of his hand and entered the imp's ears. It stood still for a second, then shook Hatious' hand! It smiled and walked off. Hatious walked back to Kain and Meeg, the latter of which asked,

"How in the name of Chaos did you do that? I mean, first off; what did you do?" The king smiled, then said,

"I dispatched of the first few, then I healed and erased the memory of the last one. It was the least I could do for the poor thing. Now, he thinks he's a successful miner in the dwarves' lands, but his original memory will eventually resurface. By then, he'll be far away, though." Kain said,

"That was truly amazing! I've heard that most magic died off with the crystals."

"Oh, but the crystals haven't died. You hold one in your pocket. The Earth Crystal. We just don't know what to do. That is why we're headed to Matoya." Meeg said rather loudly,

"Uhhh, guys? We're at the cave." Meeg pointed in one direction, and right there was the subterranean cave of Matoya, right near the coast.


	13. Chapter 11: A Paragon

The trio entered the cave, hoping Matoya's advice would bring salvation to Cornelia. As they entered Hatious said,

"Now, before we enter, there's one thing you two should know. Matoya is as blind as a bat, but kind, so keep this in mind." Kain and Meeg both thought about what Matoya may actually be like in person, but the way Hatious talked about her, like someone who hadn't been seen in years, hinted at them that the king used to know her. They entered the cave, which went underground. As they were walking, Kain finally got the nerve to ask Hatious,

"Sir, I need to tell you something. In private." His eyes glanced to Meeg, who hadn't seemed to have heard Kain. Hatious said to Meeg,

"Meeg, my little friend. Why don't you scout ahead a bit. So we can be aware of any-" He was cut off by Meeg exclaiming,

"Geez, I thought you'd never ask!" The little imp scurried off and Hatious shouted out,

"Oh, but be careful, Meeg! Be wary of traps left here!" Meeg was out of sight before Hatious had finished talking. He said,

"Even though he is rather reckless, I do like him. Wouldn't you say he can be rather… odd but funny, Kain?"

"Uh, yes. I mean especially the odd part."

"So, what is it you wanted to tell me, my boy?" Kain paused for a brief moment, then said,

"When I was in the shrine, fighting Garland… there was a moment where I seemed to… glow. Literally glow. And I was able to do things I couldn't normally. What was it?" Hatious stopped in his tracks, and he chuckled a bit.

"Kain, my boy! I always knew you were destined for greatness!" He gave a hearty laugh. "You are a very blessed man, Kain. What happened to you in that cave, during your fight with Garland, was light, Kain. True light! You, my boy, are blessed by the gods! Not since the time of the crystals has there been a warrior blessed with the light. It is not just a mere paradigm shift, but a full transformation! You, Kain, are a Paragon! Your ability to wield the power of light, if properly honed, overshadows even my magic!"

"I don't understand, sir. What do you mean 'gifted by the gods?' I don't think I know what you mean…"

"Don't worry, Kain, you will. All in time." For a second, Kain contemplated everything that he'd been told. And just before he could respond, Meeg came running back, yelling,

"Spiders! Spiders! Big ones!" He got to where Kain and Hatious stood, then he hid behind Kain's legs, still only going up to knee height, and said,

"Big… spiders! OVER THERE!" Suddenly, a giant shadow of a spider came out of a corner on the cave wall, and as it approached, Kain drew his sword, Meeg slithered farther away, and Hatious got into a ready stance. Just before it rounded the corner, Kain drew his sword up high, ready to strike… then… a tiny garden spider came around the corner. Meeg started laughing, then he went up near it and said,

"This thing? This is what scared me? Geez, I'm sorry, but this is bad even for me!" He then squashed the spider with his boot, and laughed. Kain noticed something strange with the lighting around Meeg, and suddenly there was a loud crashing noise. It was hard to see in the shadows, but Kain saw it, and so did Hatious. Meeg, still laughing, said,

"Oh man! To think I freaked out over a spider! A dumb little spider! Ha ha ha! It's just too much! I mean, what's a measly little spider gonna do? Bite me? Oooh, so scary! Funny isn't it! Right?! Ha ha! Uhhh… guys why are you looking at me like that? There… there's a giant spider right behind me… isn't there?" Kain and Hatious both simultaneously gave a slow nod, and Meeg turned slowly around, and he stood face to face with a giant, hairy spider. Meeg nervously said,

"Uhh, your kid? Down… there? Heh heh… I uh… I think I'm just gonna… BE GETTING THE HECK OUTTA HERE!" With that, Meeg turned around and ran towards Kain and Hatious screaming. The spider stood up on it's hind legs, and let out a roar. The spider was at least three times the size of a man. It looked at them with all it's eyes, then suddenly, a light came on from around the wall. A raspy voice cried out,

"Who's making all that racket out there!?" Around the corner of the cave, came an old lady with a lantern. Hatious said with a great amount of enthusiasm,

"Ah! Matoya, my old friend!"


	14. Chapter 12: The Frog Spy

Meeg yelled out,

"Hey lady, there's a giant spider there!" Matoya looked in his general direction, being blind, and snapped,

"Don't yell at me, little imp! This is my pet spider!" As she came closer, Kain saw that she had a large hunch, and wore blue robes that dragged along the ground. Her old hands were practically wrinkled into themselves.

"Well, excuse me for- wait… how do you know I'm an imp?"

"You have the voice of one, and I can tell by the atmosphere and smell that there are two other humans here with you!" Meeg, dumbfounded, said,

"Wow, you're pretty good!"

"Don't forget it, boy! This is for killing my pet's child!" She pointed a shaking, bent finger at him, and a small blue bolt came out of it. It hit Meeg, and he turned into a frog!

"Meeg!" Kain called out with concern for his friend. Matoya said,

"And who might you be, young man? Oh, don't worry, the imp will be fine. He'll turn back to normal in about 15 minutes." Kain had no choice but to believe his friend would be okay. He answered,

"I am Kain, knight of Cornelia. I'm on a mission to restore balance to the world." Matoya said,

"And what a nice young man you are." She reached forward with her hand and felt Kain's face, moving her hand all along it. She gasped and stepped back. She said,

"My, what a powerful aura you have. It emanates with such light!" Could this be what Hatious had told him about? His aura? Or did the light within him somehow affect it? Matoya went over to Hatious and said,

"Who might you be, sir? My goodness, you must be nearly as old as I am!" Hatious smiled, not that Matoya could see it, and said,

"It's me, Matoya. It has been many years." She got a surprised look on her face and said,

"… Hatious? Hatious, is that you?"

"Yes, Matoya. It is. How long exactly has it been? 50, maybe 60 years?"

"What brings you here? Your young knight over here says that you hope to restore the world to it's former glory?"

"Yes, that is our journey. Kain here, and Meeg, the imp you just turned into a frog, are helping. Actually, Kain himself is more the main man, here. This is his journey. I've just come along to help."

"Why don't you come with me, and we can discuss what to do." Matoya pointed her hand at a wall, and a layer of dust came off, revealing an old wooden door. It opened on its own to reveal a very small room with a marble floor, an empty stand and a broken-down, wooden table with two chairs. While the two went into the room and closed the door, Kain picked up the frog that was Meeg, and he said,

"Meeg, do you understand me? Give me some indication that it's you." The frog jumped out of Kain's hand, and landed on his sword. It put it's hands around it, and pulled like it was trying to lift it. Yep, it was Meeg. Kain picked him up and said,

"I'm going to need to ask you a favor. The king will come back, he needs to show Matoya the Crystal. I'm going to hand it to him, and sneak you into his pocket! Can you… spy on the king for me?" The frog jumped three times as if to signify nodding, then at that exact moment, the door opened and the king came out. He said,

"Kain, may I have the Crystal for a moment?"

"Of course sir. Here." He reached into his pocket, and he overheard Matoya saying,

"You have a Crystal? This changes everything I'd ever thought up, before!" Kain handed it to Hatious, and when he turned around to go back in, he surreptitiously snuck frog-Meeg into his pocket. Before Hatious turned to close the door, the frog gave Kain a thumbs up, and slid back into the pocket. As he closed the door, he said,

"Thank you, my boy. Now, Matoya, as you were saying, we-" The door shut. Kain awaited to hear what the conversation would hold. Pacing back and forth, Kain noticed a broom leaned against the cave wall. Years upon years of dust covered its handle and bristles, and the bristles themselves were torn and bent all over. With no warning, a voice broke the silence of the occasional water droplets of the stalactites.

"Seibur tnaig eht deef." The voice seemed to be emanating from… the broom? It ceased to speak again. Figuring he was merely hearing things, Kain continued pacing, hearing just the slightest clank of his armor on the stone floor. Feeling excited, yet anxious about their quest, curious about this whole "Light" thing, and nervous about the giant spider watching his every move, Kain began to start thinking of what could be coming.

_ Kain quietly went around a corner, careful not to let anyone see him. Perhaps if he saw how Sir Garland trained, he could improve, himself! Kain peeked around a corner, already hearing Sir Garland's grunts. Kain was amazed to see several cut up pieces of dummies on the ground. Kain saw Garland was using his large Zweinhander, rumored to be made of unbreakable material. Garland swung at a dummy, instantly decapitating it. He turned and stabbed through the neck of a second dummy, his sword being thick enough to sever its head. Garland swung his huge sword around in one hand, cutting several dummies in half at once. Garland jumped in the air, and his sword started floating in circles around him! He jutted his arms out, and with a grunt of effort, a large lightning bolt came from the sky and set the last dummy on fire! Was that… Magic?_


	15. Chapter 13: Bolted Down and on Fire

After about 10 minutes, Hatious came out with Matoya. The frog Meeg jumped out and into Kain's hand. He quickly place him down on the ground. Hatious said goodbye to Matoya as she walked off into the darkness of the cave with her spider. Just then, Meeg returned to normal. Panting, he said,

"Ok, you don't want to know what it's like to be a frog! I never want to again, either! If I ever see that Matoya again, I'll-" He was cut off by Kain, who said to Hatious,

"So, she told you what our journey would be?" Hatious nodded. "We must travel to Elfheim. We'll know what to do, there." Kain was startled.

"But, sir, Elfheim is on the other side of the continent! It would take weeks to get there!"

"Which is why we're going by boat."

"Uh, yeah. One problem with that. Where are we gonna get a boat!?" Meeg practically yelled. Hatious smiled slightly, then said matter-of-factly,

"Why, Meeg. Pravoka, of course. I'm sure we could borrow a ship, there." Kain said,

"Pravoka? You said they were having pirate trouble."

"Well, we'll just have to hope we've come at an opportune time then, won't we?" Meeg, jumping up slightly, said,

"Problem two; how do we get out of this cave? It was a maze just getting here!"

"Simple. Watch this!" Hatious snapped his fingers, and suddenly they were just outside the cave's entrance. Just like that. No huge cloud of smoke, no giant glowing runic symbol, no slowing down and warping of time, nothing. They were just... there. Kain and Meeg were speechless. They had a lot to learn about their king's power. Kain, still dumbfounded, said,

"Well, to Pravoka, then!" The group headed off to Pravoka, not knowing what to expect. But however it may turn out, be it peaceful transaction or pirate invasion, the three were ready, three lone men as powerful as a triumvirate.

After several hours of walking, they finally arrived at the outskirts of town. It was just over the hill. Strangely, the tall, wooden watch tower was abandoned. Meeg suddenly seemed to perk up, and he said,

"Hey, uh, guys? You smell smoke?" They walked over the hill, and saw Pravoka, ablaze with pirates running rampant. Decapitated heads stuck to pikes in the dirt, the blood of the innocent spilt everywhere. Kain was the first to react.

"How could anyone do this? For money?" Meeg said,

"Even I wouldn't go this far… besides, those treasure chests and bolted down _and_ on fire. I couldn't steal 'em if I wanted to." Hatious said,

"Meeg… not now." Kain removed his helmet, Meeg pulled his jester's hat back, and Hatious lowered his hood. They all stood there, respecting those lost. After a couple of seconds, Meeg said,

"Hey, here's an idea… why don't we go down and help them?" Kain said,

"We'd have to have a death wish to want to go down there. They outnumber us."

"Hoo-boy, that's a good one, Kain. Yeah, sure. But we overpower them!" He pulled out his knife and started running down the hill towards the conflagration. Kain and Hatious quickly ran after him. They finally caught up with him, and Hatious, out of breath, said,

"You, know Meeg. For someone of your size… you're pretty quick!" He laughed a little. Meeg replied with,

"For a guy of your age, you run pretty fast!"

"Oh, don't worry, most of it's the magic." They finally got down to the town, and Meeg seized the opportunity to jump on a pirate's chest and stab him. Hatious concentrated on blasting streams of water from his hands to extinguish the fires. Kain took out his sword, and ran into the flames. As he ran by, he slashed a pirate across the chest, and another one on his other side. A third one took out a cutlass, and clashed swords with Kain. But the rusty blade was no match for Kain's blessed steel. He slashed downwards against the pirate sword, shattering it. Pieces bounced off Kain's armor, and several went through the pirate. Kain saw another pirate chasing a woman carrying a baby. He threw his sword at the pirate, and it went through his stomach. He heard the woman shouting,

"Thank you!" He retrieved his sword. As Kain stood up, he heard screaming coming from a house. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open. He kicked it open, and ran inside. Two pirates were cornering a little boy against a wall. Kain snuck up behind one, and stabbed him. The other turned around, and threw a flaming chunk of wood in Kain's direction. His aim was terrible, and the burning wood ricocheted of a pipe, right back into the pirates face. Kain stabbed him while he was writhing on the floor. He heard knocking coming from a closet. He struck it with his sword several times, and the hinges came undone. Someone came running out, and Kain followed. Just as he got to the door, the roof started collapsing. Kain jumped out of the house, and barely made it in time, just before the house fell in on itself.

Meeg was just finishing filling his pockets with a pirate's treasure, when one with a flintlock approached him. What this pirate had was one of the most advanced and dangerous weapons in existence. One hit from the little round balls inside it would be fatal. Meeg threw some gold coins at the pirates face, who stepped back and fired up into the air. Meeg quickly Ran underneath the pirate, slitting his Achilles. The pirate fell to the ground and Meeg stuck his knife into the pirate's head. He ran in another direction, and found a dead pirate. He felt in his pockets, and took some more treasure. But, then, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a man with his leg on fire. He ran to him, and jumped on his leg. He cushioned the flames, and they went out. The man then shook Meeg off, and ran away, obviously scared of the imp

"You're welcome!" Meeg called out.

Hatious had put out at least 20 houses now, and was working on another. A lot of the pirates were either gone or dead, now. Some, though, still had the bravery or insanity to confront the group. A few confronted Hatious, and encircled him. Just as he finished putting out a house, one pirate threw a flaming tar bomb at it, which re-enflamed it. Hatious lifted it up with magic, and telekinetically threw it back at them. It stuck right on the face of one, and he met a painful end. Hatious resumed hosing down the houses, when the pirates took out their swords, charging at him. Hatious re-directed his stream of water at the pirates feet, and waving his other hand, the water solidified into ice. The pirates slipped and slid everywhere. Hatious then sent a slow moving green smoke towards them. The cloud covered them up, and they all started couching and choking. When the smoke cleared, there were a dozen suffocated pirates on the ground.

Kain was in another house, helping out people. A lot of the smoke had cleared around town, and you could see basic blue skies, now. A wooden rafter fell on Kain's leg. Luckily, it wasn't on fire, and it didn't break his leg. Some pirates ran in and drew their swords. Slowly walking towards Kain, their faces showed only contempt. Kain was trapped. He couldn't think of what to do! But suddenly…

_You are truly blessed by the gods! You, Kain, are a warrior of light!_

Remembering what Hatious had told him, he focused on something. Suddenly, an image of someone else flashed over him, for just a brief second. It was somebody in armor similar to Kain's, but different. The sword was the same as Kain's, but with a golden blade. Kain started glowing, and adrenalin rushed through him. With his other leg, he kicked back the block of wood. It rolled off. He stood up, picked up the block, and threw it at the two pirates. He threw it between them, and he slashed forward, but he missed! Although, suddenly, a short glowing sword, made of the very light itself, appeared in front of Kain. Just past his sword, it followed his sword's movement, and sliced through the wood. The sword disappeared almost immediately, and the block, now cut into two pieces, flew into the pirates' faces. They were knocked out cold. Hatious walked into the building. Apparently, during the short battle, Hatious had managed to extinguish the town. He proudly said,

"I told you, it would come to you eventually!"


	16. Chapter 14: Pointless Conflict

All of the fires had extinguished, and the pirates had fled. The three met back up. Kain asked,

"Meeg, what's in your pocket? You didn't, did you?"

"What? They were dead, anyway. And I saved a guy!"

"And I saved dozens. Hatious saved the whole town." Hatious interjected,

"Lighten up on him, Kain. He Didn't hurt anyone." Kain said,

"Of course not. I'm just saying…"

"Least I got some rubies, too! Hey, I see something that's not bolted down or on fire!" Meeg pointed at the pirate ship with white cotton sails. It was a giant wooden ship, looking quite sturdy. It must have taken the pirates years worth of plundering and murder to amass enough money to buy such a ship… or steal it.

They all went aboard the ship, and as soon as they got on the poop deck, one last pirate jumped out at them from a cabin door. Before the pirate could do anything, Kain drew his sword, and put it up to the pirate's neck. Within seconds, Kain was able to process this pirate's appearance. He wore a light blue collared shirt with large cuffs and had a fancy white neckerchief in the front of his shirt. His hat was common for pirates, black with a skull and crossed bones on it. His black pants were torn in many places, showing scars from years of pirating. His old leather boots had clearly gotten used to being wet. There was a long, unkempt beard on his face. All over the man's body were battle scars and wounds. It was clear that this was the captain. The pirate said,

"Aye, matey. You're arm is quick. But is your aim as good as your blade?" The captain dropped his sword, and sensing something, Kain slowly put his own in its holster, watching the captain's every move. Meeg started to say something, probably asking if Kain was crazy, but Hatious shushed him. The captain handed Kain a gun, and took out his. Kain asked,

"How does it work?"

"Arrg, just pull the trigger." They both turned their backs, and started walking away. As soon as they'd both gone about 20 feet away, they both turned around. The captain aimed his gun, and Kain aimed his, while Meeg and Hatious watched on. The pirate pulled the trigger, and… nothing. No loud noise or sudden injury to Kain. The captain said,

"It seems luck be on your side, today. Don't worry, ye haven't seen the last of Captain Bikke!" With a laugh, he jumped off the side and swam away. Meeg said,

"What was the point of that?" Kain replied,

"I don't know, but now we have this gun. It has ammunition, too" Meeg nodded.

"Yeah, probably to help advance the plot somewhere. Depends on the mood our writer's in." The ship was now theirs. The three had the freedom to explore the oceans. Their next destination: Elfheim.

Kain had been wondering about something for some time, now. Hatious had taken the wheel. They were about halfway across the Aldean Sea, by now. Kain had taken Meeg to the storage compartment.

"Meeg, not that I would betray the king any day, but I need to know. What did he say to Matoya?"

"Well, here's the thing; we need to get to Lufenia. The dwarves have been trying to clear a giant boulder blocking the water to the rest of the world, but the dwarves up there need some nitro powder. Matoya can tell us where it is, but she needs her crystal ball, which was stolen by the dark elf, Astos. Here's another problem: the elf prince is in a coma, caused by Astos. So here's what we need to do; defeat Astos, get the crystal ball, save the prince, and get the nitro powder, wherever it is."

"Sounds difficult. But Hatious trusts we can do it."

"Matoya says that once she gets her crystal, she can make an herb to wake up the elf prince."

"Then we should get going." Several days passed, and they finally arrived at Elfheim. They found a small port and docked their ship there. Before they could even get off the ship, Kain noticed that Elfheim had definitely seen better days. Several statues were knocked over and homes were in shambles. Several stone blocks had fallen from the castle, and Kain wasn't sure, but he thought he saw an arm sticking out from underneath the crumbled rubble of a building. After getting off the boat, Kain noticed there was no one around. The clinic had a sign in front of it that read in hastily scrawled ink _Maximum occupancy._ The lack of elves running about was rather disturbing, reinforced by the gray overcast above. Attempting to break the silence, Kain said,

"Do you suppose they'll peacefully let us in?" Before anyone could answer, several elven archers came out of their hiding places behind rubble and rocks, and lined up in front of the three. Kain reached for his sword, but stopped realizing they were outnumbered fifteen to three. Kain took a moment to observe the archers. They all wore the same basic outfit; dark green pants and shirts with a leather breastplate and black boots. Most seemed to have either light brown or blond hair. The archers drew back their crossbows. Meeg, nervously laughing, said,

"Yeah… heh. I don't think so." One of the archers lowered their bow.

"Hold on… these are the guys his majesty wanted!" Hatious stepped forward.

"And who would this 'majesty' be?" The archer merely smirked, and said,

"He'll want to see you. I wouldn't reject that offer." Kain looked at Hatious, then at Meeg, and he knew they were both thinking the same thing: Astos.

The archers escorted them to a castle. Its bricks were dark. It was nothing like the tall, white splendor of Castle Cornelia. This castle was long and somewhat short, only at about 50 meters tall. They entered through a large door, across a drawbridge. They walked through the castle for a while, going up two short flights of stairs. There was just something depressing about the castle. The atmosphere was a far cry from that of Cornelia's. It just seemed… wrong. The tapestries that lined the stone walls seemed to be very pale. The majestic carpets on the floors were faded and torn in the corners. They finally got to the very top floor, after what seemed like about minutes. 10 minutes. The three entered a giant door even bigger than the entrance. The guards seemed to have left them. Suddenly, a spine chilling voice, so calm yet seemingly bored, said,

"So, you are the so called Warriors of Light. I need no introduction. You know who I am." Kain yelled out

"Astos? Show yourself! Where are you?" A dark purple mist surrounded them.

"I am everywhere, yet nowhere. I occupy space while abandoning time… much like another." Kain wondered who he referred to. Abandoning time? Astos continued.

"I am much more powerful than the old man, faster than the small weakling, and stronger than you, knight. However, you have an ability I don't; the ability to shine through the darkness. If you do for me what I desire, his fate will be far less... _gruesome_." The mist drifted over to a featureless grey curtain, which seemed to open on its own. Lying in an extravagant bed with layers of blankets and a big, fluffy pillow, was an elf. Obviously the prince. He looked disturbed, and he was all sweaty.

"He has been in this coma for some time… The only way to awaken him is to retrieve the crown of elven kings for me. You see, I can not truly be king until I possess the crown. Unfortunately, the elf king before me threw the crown out the window into the swamp, before he unfortunately… passed away." Meeg stepped forward, and with great valor said,

"So you killed him?"

"You could say that I might have… And I might do the same to his son if I don't possess the crown…" Hatious, obviously troubled, said,

"We will retrieve your crown for you, Astos. You say it fell into the swamp?"

"Good…" That was all he said. After that, the mist dissipated. Kain, still maintaining caution, said,

"Now we must go to the swamp?" He knew why. They needed to trick Astos into thinking they were on his side. They needed to kill him so they could get the crystal ball. Hatious said,

"Yes, though it will be dangerous." With that, the three left the castle to venture out into the swamp.


	17. Chapter 15: Elfheim's Marsh Cave

The three stood just outside the entrance to the swamp. It was a bunch of vines, draping the area between two trees. Meeg said,

"Well… ahh… here we go…" He was obviously scared, borderline freaking out, but he walked through the vines. Kain and Hatious followed. Meeg ran into a spot where the sun shined through.

"This won't be too bad. Oh, who am I kidding, screw this!" He started running away, but a giant hole opened up in the ground and he fell through the vegetation.

"Meeg!" Kain called out. He jumped in after him. Hatious cautiously went in after. Kain started sliding down old leaves covered with moss. He fell out of a hole, and rolled to the side. Hatious fell out a few seconds later, and landed next to Kain.

"Where is Meeg, I wonder?" Kain replied,

"I don't see him." They both stood up and looked around. Kain asked,

"Should we split up and look or stay together?"

"I don't know these swamps well enough. We should stick together." Hatious flicked his finger and like a torch, light came out. Kain saw that they were ankle deep in murky water, and at least a mile upwards was the ground. Kain saw a group of flying creatures. They had spherical yellow bodies and Bat-like wings with purple veins. In the spherical bodies seemed to be one large eye. Hatious also noticed them.

"Ahrimans." Kain turned to Hatious and asked,

"What?"

"A group of flying Ahrimans. A lone Ahriman is no concern, but a flock… They shoot beams from their eye than can petrify. We had best avoid them." Wondering where they would nest in a subterranean swamp, Kain started thinking of possible ways to fend them off if they came near. Kain and Hatious resumed searching for Meeg. There was a strange, sticky white substance stuck to a few trees. Kain suddenly heard splashing coming from the water.

"Meeg?" They turned around, and a giant spider was walking towards them!

"Back! Back!" Hatious yelled, swinging the flame from his hand. The spider ran away. Kain said,

"That must be the cause of the sticky white material. It's web"

"Yes, it must. Imps are prime food for giant spiders. We must find Meeg quickly." Kain and Hatious were walking a little faster now. They suddenly heard screaming. It was familiar. Meeg. They ran towards it, and they found Meeg stuck to a giant web.

"Hey guys! Took you long enough! I found the crown, but…" He pointed with his eyes towards his left, and there was the crown, on the web. Suddenly, something grabbed Kain from above, and he was being pulled into the air! He dropped his sword on the ground. He reached to his back, and took out his shield. He was being pulled up by a spider web! He got tied up all around, and only his head was free. His shield was trapped in the web. He was literally hanging by a string, from the top of the miles high subterranean roof. Hatious came up next to him.

"Well, Kain, we've been in worse situations before!"

"Sir, can't you just melt it with your magic?" A spider started crawling down the web towards Kain.

"Magic? Oh, right!" Hatious's web started melting away, then his hand was freed.

"This may burn a little, Kain" He shot a burst of fire towards Kain's web, and his shield was free. Kain grabbed his shield, and just before the spider got to him, he knocked it off with his shield. It started a long fall to the ground. More came from above. Hatious said,

"Hang on to that web, Kain!" Hatious shot a fireball at the web connecting Kain to the ceiling. It loosened, then snapped. Kain started falling, then Hatious. When they hit the ground, the web cushioned their impact. They untangled themselves, and ran to Meeg. Kain picked up his sword and started cutting at the giant web, while Hatious burned it. The crown and Meeg fell off.

"Sheesh, guys. I was just about to warn you. Those spiders are fast. After Matoya and this swamp, I've had enough of giant spiders." Just after that, a large horde of giant spiders came down from the trees.

"I think you may have spoken too soon, my friend…" Hatious said, as Meeg took out his knife with a trembling hand. Kain retrieved his sword, and they got ready to fight. As Hatious shot a ball of fire at a clump of spiders, Kain charged at them. He slashed at them with his sword and bashed their heads in with his shield. They died rather easily. One spit a web at his hand, and covered his sword with web. He tried striking, but it got stuck on a spider's thorax. It didn't go into the spider, it just got stuck. He tried shaking it off, but it wouldn't go. The spider spit some sort of green liquid at Kain's eyes. He started screaming in pain, and he bashed the spider off with his shield. He opened his eyes, but everything moved slowly and with a blur.

"I'm blinded!" He yelled. Hatious said,

"Don't worry, it will wear off! Come toward my voice!" Kain walked in the general direction of Hatious, swiping with his sword in random directions. He bumped into something.

"There, I'm right here, Kain!" Meeg hadn't even killed one, he'd just been cowering next to Hatious.

"I'm seriously going to develop spider-phobia from this!" Meeg yelled. Hatious said,

"This should take care of it!" He launched a giant fire ball up into the air, and it hit the ceiling. It hit just as the three were surrounded by a legion of spiders. The loud explosion stopped every spider in their tracks. The old dry fungi and leaves ignited all at once. Meeg held the crown close to himself. He sheathed his knife. Kain said,

"What happened? I still can't see!" Hatious said,

"Err… we may have to leave, soon!" The fire quickly spread, and started going down the trees. Several giant branches fell, and crushed many spiders. The rest caught on fire, and ran all around. They seemed to avoid the three. After they'd all left, there was a huge blast of wind, and all the fires went out.

"Hatious, what did you do?" Kain asked.

"It wasn't me, Kain! I don't know!" Meeg was just too freaked out to say anything. Out from behind a tree, came an elf. He had pale purple complexion. Hatious noticed that this elf was wearing dark purple robes and had long, black hair. He also carried a staff with some kind of glowing blue gem on the bottom.

"Xithan!" Hatious called out. Xithan? Kain had heard legends of a dark elf wizard named Xithan before, but he doubted he actually existed. Unfortunately, Kain couldn't even see.

"Your spiders?" Hatious asked.

"Of course, my old rival." The dark elf wizard replied.

"Up to the same old tricks, I see. Where have you been all these years?"

"I see you've been busy Hatious. King now? The only king I serve is the true king of Cornelia and Elfheim. Astos! He's sent me to destroy you!" Suddenly, Kain felt very woozy. He tried to move around a bit, but he couldn't.

"Hatious! I… I can't move!"

"I can't either! He's hypnotized us!"

"This is hypnosis? We're paralyzed!"

"He uses powerful dark magic! He used to be my enemy, many years ago!"

"But sir, he's so young."

"Elves don't age the same way we do. He's around 230 something by now. He's far from past his prime!"

With a touch of what seemed like surprise, Meeg said,

"Hey guys, I can move…" Xithan seemed confused.

"What? Why can't I control you?" He seemed to be straining with effort as he pointed his staff at Meeg.

"Your mind is too… simple! Yours is different than a human's. I can't figure it out!" Kain said,

"Meeg, we can't move, and I can't see. This is up to you!" Hatious added,  
"Be careful, my friend. The castle won't be the same without its jester!" Meeg looked scared.

"You… sure _I_ have to do it? Seriously?"


	18. Chapter 16: Meeg's Test

Xithan raised his staff. Meeg dropped the crown and tentatively took out his knife. Xithan said,

"Whoever survives gets the crown!" A black ball of fire shot from the staff's tip to where Meeg was, but he jumped to the side.

"You're quick, imp. But your luck won't last forever!"

"I have a name, ya know! Whoa!" Meeg exclaimed as Xithan shot out a stream of green smoke from his staff. Meeg ran around in circles around Xithan to avoid it. With his free hand, Xithan lifted up a large rock with his magical abilities, and threw it at Meeg.

"Duck, Meeg!" Hatious yelled out. Meeg turned his head just in time to see the rock an inch away from his nose. Reacting instantly, Meeg somersaulted under it and jumped in Xithan's direction. He wasn't right next to him, but he was closer. Xithan slammed his staff on the ground, and a huge wave of the green water went towards Meeg. Meeg sucked up a huge gulp of air, and jumped right through it. He was next to Xithan, so he stabbed at Xithan's knee, but the knife phased through him. Xithan laughed, and said,

"Fool! I am invincible!" He whacked Meeg across the nose with his staff. Meeg fell back, and Xithan slammed his staff down on Meg's stomach. Meeg tried to cut at the staff with his knife, and it actually stuck into it. He cut off the end of it. Xithan grunted with surprise.

"What? How did you-"  
"Look, I don't know. But there is one thing I do know."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"….I got your flux shield capacitor!" He held it up to show him.

"Huh? How did you?" He looked at the bottom of the staff, noticing the magical gem that supplied his seeming invincibility was cut off. Meeg got up, and slashed at Xithan's leg. Xithan fell on to one leg.

"My name is Meeg!" He slashed at the other leg, forcing Xithan to kneel down so Meeg was eye level with him.

"I can steal anything that's not bolted down…" He slashed at Xithan's chest. "AND on fire!" Xithan was now on the ground, barely living. Meeg raised his knife to stab Xithan.

"And I just kicked your-" Meeg accidentally dropped his knife, and it went right into Xithan's back. Xithan disappeared, just fading out of nothing. Meeg picked up his knife and awkwardly sheathed it. Kain said,

"Meeg…. A little too far this time."

"Uh, sorry Kain. Hey I won, though!" Hatious and Kain seemed to be freed, now. Kain said,

"Well, I can see again, more or less. And we've got the crown, too. Let's just go give it to Astos so we can kill him and get Matoya's-" It was too late when Kain noticed his mistake. Hatious put a hand on his hip.

"Kain, I don't seem to remember telling you about that…" Meeg gave Kain a nervous look. Stuttering, Kain replied

"W-well, uh, sir. I… uh…"

"Kain, my boy…" Hatious crossed his arms, then smiled. "I'm proud of you. That was innovative, putting the frog in my pocket. You're thinking like a true Light Warrior!" Kain just blankly stared at him.

"Well, I… I don't mean to show I am against you, or I don't trust you. I just felt I needed to know."

"I was hoping you would do something like that, Kain." Meeg interjected, and said,

"Well I'm not. When's the last time you washed those robes?" Hatious laughed, and said,

"That's why you're the jester Meeg. I never tire of your humour!" With a happy note and the Elven crown of kings, they left the swamp by climbing up a vine, returning to the castle to face Astos.


	19. Chapter 17: Ill Boding and Light

They entered the castle and went directly to Astos' chamber. Nobody stopped them, most likely because they were holding the crown. The purple mist immediately went to around the crown in Kain's hand.

"So… you succeeded in defeating Xithan and you obtained the crown. I don't suppose you'll just be giving it to me?" Hatious shook his head and said,

"I'm sorry, but after hearing about all you've done, killing the king, taking over the kingdom, and putting the prince in a coma, I just can't." The mist materalized into a dark elf with light purple skin. He wore royal robes and a jewel encrusted cape which he took off and put on the ground. He took out a rapier-like sword.

"Then I suppose we must fight for it. You, holding the crown. What is your name?"

"… Kain."

"Kain, hmm? A rather plain name. But I won't forget it." He waved his hand, and Astos and Kain were in a giant field of decaying grass.

"Do you see this, brave knight? This is the agricultural town of Melmond. Not one single crop to be seen." Astos started charging at Kain. Kain took out his sword and shield. He blocked Astos' attack with the shield, and struck at Astos' stomach with his shield. Astos jumped back to avoid it. Not losing his cool, collected voice, or even showing any emotion, Astos said,

"This is all because of Lich, the Fiend of Earth. He stole the crystal."

"How do you know this?" Kain asked. Astos jabbed at Kain, who dodged and struck back with a downward blow. Astos parried by hitting Kain's sword to the air, then he pointed his own sword towards Kain's throat, and pressed it up against it.

"I have inside information."

"Who from?"

"Our leader." Kain ducked down and swung his shield towards Astos' knees, then stabbed his sword upwards towards Astos' chest. Astos stabbed repeatedly in Kain's direction, but he kept dodging to the side. Astos swung his rapier to Kain's side, but Kain blocked it with his shield, then stuck one of the spikes coming off the side of his sword into the guard of Astos' sword, then knocked it out of his hand. Within a second, Kain put his shield on his back and took out the flintlock that he got from the pirate. He aimed it right at Astos.

"What is that contraption?" Astos obviously had never seen one.

"It's called a flintlock. I pull this ring, and a metal ball comes out to kill you" Astos unexpectedly punched Kain in the face, causing him to drop the flintlock. Astos picked it up, and aimed at Kain. Kain suddenly started glowing with light, again being empowered. Kain struck forward with his sword, and three swords made of light followed the movements of Kain's sword and struck Astos. Just then, he shot the flintlock, and the ball seemed to bounce off of the very aura of light around Kain, and right back at Astos. He groaned, and fell to the ground. Wounded from being slashed by the light swords, and getting hit by the flintlock, he faded. Kain disappeared from the field and was suddenly back in the throne room. In place of Astos' cape, was the crystal ball. Hatious smiled and said,

"Kain, you're calling on the light more and more, my boy!" Meeg said,

"Yeah, and now we've got the crystal!" Kain said,

"Then we can sail back to Matoya and get the nitro powder." They left the castle, got back on their ship and started heading back to Matoya's cave. Kain was wondering about something, though. Astos mentioned a leader. Who was it? One of the Fiends? He'd have to figure it out later. When they got back to Pravoka, most of it had been rebuilt. A dock guard said he'd watch their ship. As they walked through the town, they ran into none other than the pirate captain!

"Me mateies! I knew I'd be seein' ye again!" Kain said,

"Here's your flintlock back." He threw the thing into the pirate's hand.

"Whoa whoa, matey, don't ye want to be buyin' one o' me fine products? Only the best is sold at Captain Bikke's Portable Emporium! " He pointed to a small vending caravan, and Kain saw it was full of junk. Just old thrown out things.

"No thanks. Right now, we need to be somewhere."

"All righty then, be seein' ya!" As they walked off, Meeg said,

"Yeesh, that guy's crazy! I hope he doesn't become a plot point later on!" They left town and headed to Matoya's cave. When they got there, she was waiting for them outside her cave.

"You all made it! I'm glad you did… mostly. I still smell the tree imp."

"Hey! I killed one of Hatious's old enemies!"

"Oh, you did, now? Then maybe a frog wouldn't be as appropriate this time!" She again pointed her boney finger at him, and a yellow beam came out. Meeg jumped to the side and said,

"Ha! Ya missed me!" Matoya smirked. The beam turned around and zapped Meeg's back. He shrunk and turned grey. Now, he was a rat. Kain said,

"Sorry, Meeg. I'm not going to carry you this time." Hatious added,

"And I wouldn't precisely want you in my pocket…." They walked into the cave, and Matoya's pet spider was waiting by the door. She tapped the wall, and the door opened.

"This time, you all can come in," she said. Hatious handed her the crystal ball. She put it on the empty stand and it fit perfectly. There was a blinding flash of light, and Matoya yelled out,

"I can see again! Now, the nitro powder! It is in… a locked room… in Castle Cornelia…" Hatious said,

"Oh! Of course! I should have remembered that!"

"… The key belongs to… the elf prince." Kain said,

"Uh… as in the one that's in a coma?"

"I can make an herb that will awaken him. He will give you the key if you give him the crown. Then you get the nitro powder, give it to the dwarves, and they will destroy the boulder blocking the path to the rest of the world. Then you will head to Melmond with this." She handed Kain the Earth Crystal.

"Lich will be there. Defeat him, and you will know what to do from there."

After an hour or so, Matoya came out with a vial of pale blue liquid.

"This can awaken the prince. Have him drink it, and pour some in his eyes." Hatious smiled and said,

"Thank you, Matoya." She smiled back and said,

"Now be careful. Don't get killed. After this, I will no longer be able to help you. Once you restore the crystals, it is beyond my power. Know that your choice is to make a great sacrifice, or let the world die."

"Sacrifice?" Kain asked.

"Inquire to the circle of sages at Crescent Lake. Now go, save Nordia." Just then, Meeg transformed back into an imp.

"Oh, and make sure he survives…" Meeg seemed surprised.

"Ah-ha! So you do like me!"

"I do not in any way respect you, imp!" Meeg stepped back a little.

"I simply mean that your role in this quest may be rather important."

"Important?" Matoya paused for a second, before saying,

"I mustn't tell you more. You shall find out for yourself." As Matoya turned to slowly walk away, Meeg said,

"Ohhh, I get it! All right, spoiler alert here. I- yeah, I getcha! Man, she's crazy…" On that ambivalent note, the trio left the cave, ready for the long, tedious journey back to Elfheim.

They left the cave, and got back on the ship at Pravoka. When they arrived at Elfheim, nobody stopped them. They went to the prince's chamber, and did as Matoya had instructed. The prince's eyes opened, he gasped, and started coughing.

"Are you okay?" Kain asked. Panting, the prince said,

"Thank you! You awakened me from that terrible nightmare. Astos! Where is he? And Xithan?" Hatious said,

"Dead. And as for Xithan, Meeg here-" Meeg interrupted, saying.

"Oh, I just totally destroyed and completely obliterated-" Kain pinched Meeg's shoulder. The prince nodded.

"I get the idea. I've been out for at least a month. How is the kingdom? Where is the crown?"

Hatious said,

"Astos has done many a dark deed. He killed your father. He all but destroyed the kingdom. We have the crown." He held it up for the prince to see.

"I… see." The prince said quietly. He got up and took the crown.

"If my father is truly dead… then I am king!" He put the crown on his head, and there was a flash of light! A wave of whiteness spread out, emanating from the crown. It spread over all of Elfheim! The grass became greener, the clouds disappeared, and the rubble restored itself! Anybody near the brink of death or with a wound was healed, and hospitals were emptied. The dark atmosphere was replaced by a happy one, and everything was back to normal.

"Your key." The elf prince said. He handed it to Kain. Now they could get the nitro powder to get to Melmond!

"You may sleep in the castle for the night if you desire so." the elf price, now a king, said. Meeg quickly answered,

"Heck, yeah! I'll take a giant fluffy feather bed any day!" Meeg quickly dashed out of the room, towards the nearest bed. The elf prince somberly walked over to a large, open window, started leaning against it, perhaps letting all of this sink in. Kain already had an idea what Hatious would say, but he asked anyway,

"Sir, what was that? That white energy?"

"Kain, you know the answer to that,"

"Yes? Say it then."

"Light"


	20. Transition 2

_A nation saved, a king awakened, an evil vanquished, and another adventure awaiting. Possessing the mystic key needed to get the nitro powder for the dwarves, Kain, Meeg, and Hatious were ready to return to Cornelia. However, this time there would be no opportunity to rest. It was no longer deniable: the land around Cornelia, the only true haven left on Nordia, was dying. The air was rank, and in some places, unbreathable. Even Melmond, the agricultural town, couldn't grow one crop. Crescent Lake, known for its famous, pure waters, had mostly dried up. The Circle of Sages awaiting the trio, Matoya's advice lay lingering in Kain's mind, and in the mind of the world…_


	21. Chapter 18: A Fighter's Development

"All right, this should do it." Hatious placed the key into a lock in the throne room of Castle Cornelia. The wall slid into the floor, revealing a small pouch. Meeg ran up to it.

"Hey, uh… guys? This is leaking…" He picked up a single grain of very fine green powder.

"Be cautious Meeg, for even the slightest-" Hatious was interrupted by a loud POP! As Meeg dropped the grain onto the ground, more or less ruining his outfit.

"- impact could cause it to go off…" Hatious quietly said.

"If that one grain destroyed Meeg's outfit, then imagine how powerful the whole bag of it could be," Kain exclaimed.

"Yes, exactly, my boy. The dwarves know an ancient technique to enhance its destructive properties even farther."

"Strong enough to destroy the boulder?"

"Even stronger."

After Meeg had switched to a new outfit, they started walking out of the castle. As they passed through a room, Meeg said,

"Y'know, every time we're in here, I can't help but feel we're being watched… Creepy" Meeg shuddered at the thought. Kain said,

"Meeg, I'm sure you're just feeling things." Kain took a quick look around. An ordinary Cornelian room, white bricks, large window with a green curtain. Normal enough. When the three reached the Cornelian port, just next to the newly erected bridge, they set sail to the Northern mines. This time, there was considerably less trouble. As they sailed north, the boat hit a sharp rock, which caused a leak. Meeg came running up from below deck, screaming in panic.

"Problems! Problems! Problems! We're leaking, one of you get down and start bailing!"

"Meeg, settle down. Aren't we close to Melmond, Hatious?" Kain inquired.

"Yes, just set sail southwest." Meeg started panicking, saying,

"Melmond? That's in completely the wrong direction! And the world is turning into a landfill!"

"Meeg, don't worry, a few hours won't harm us." Hatious turned the ship around. Within twenty minutes, they'd reached Melmond. They docked at the small port. The cobblestone ground held nothing but a small storage shack and a shipwright writing things on a scroll. Upon quick examination, Kain noticed they were the only ship docked at Melmond. Next to the storage shack was a river, which cut through a forest into the village of Melmond. Hatious approached the shipwright.

"Excuse me, sir. If you'll have a minute of our time." The shipwright stopped scrawling things onto his paper and looked up at Hatious. The shipwright wore a white cotton shirt with a thin black vest. He wore black pants and brown leather boots, like many people in the world. He had short orange hair and a scruffy, thin beard. He wore a monocle on his left eye, presumably to help him see what he wrote on his paper.

"Well, I'll try my best to help. Our little village here has practically no economy. This plague has drained us dry. Not a single crop will grow and, unfortunately, that's our only way of life."

"I'm sorry for your situation, but that's why we need help. We're trying to restore balance to the land, but our ship has hit a rock and it's leaking. Could you see if you can repair it?"

"Well, I'd love to help, but all of our repair supplies are in the town cellar, and an old Vampire has decided to make his home down there." Meeg jumped into the conversation by excitedly saying,

"Hey, we're rough and tough warriors that can handle this stuff!"

"Meeg, just because you defeated one enemy doesn't mean you can handle a Vampire," Kain told him. Meeg got a disappointed look on his face.

"But we don't know until we try…" Meeg got excited at this. While bouncing up and down, he said,

"All right! The Super Tough Trio takin' on the ol' Vampire!" Hatious and Kain were chuckling, and even the shipwright had a grin on his face. His grin disappeared, and the shipwright said,

"I must warn you, though. The woods between here and the village are absolutely infested with monsters this time of night. I'd advise you to take a small canoe up the river, which passes right through the village." Hatious said,

"Thank you for the advice sir. Where might we find a raft?" The shipwright pointed to a small shed across the way.

"Right against the left wall. Two oars, seating for four. Good luck with your quest." The three entered the shed to retrieve the canoe. Meeg seemed almost angry.

"Look at this piece of junk! It's got holes and splinters all over!" Kain looked at Meeg and said,

"Uh, that's not the canoe. That's the tarp covering it. The splinters are the oars." Meeg looked embarrassed.

"Oh…. Well then… I, uh… Ya know, we imps can't see much in the dark, anyway..." Hatious pulled the tarp off. He bent down to push the boat on its side. Before he could touch it, he groaned and reached his hand around to his back. He stumbled to the ground. Kain and Meeg rushed over to him and helped him up.

"Sir, are you all right?" Kain worriedly asked. Hatious laughed and said in that wise, old voice of his,

"Yes, my boy. Just…" He groaned as he got up. "… old."

As twilight approached, the canoe was set into the river. The three jumped in and started rowing up river. As it got dark, Hatious flicked his finger and a small but steady flame came from his hand, lighting the way. Kain shifted his position and said,

"You know, Hatious, I think I'm getting the hang of this Light concept." They were speaking quietly, as Meeg had fallen asleep.

"Really, my boy? What do you think, so far?"

"Well, what I've discovered is that in times of desperate need, I seem to be able to channel this energy, this power. It seems to enhance my physical strength in addition to giving me some form of magic. I've gained a light aura, which seems to be able to deflect things. When I fought Astos, he used the flintlock on me. It just deflected back at him. I also seem to be able to summon light swords. I'll swing my sword, and several swords made of pure energy follow my movements. What else comes of this light power?"

"Well, Kain, that's up to you."

"What do you mean?" Kain could hear Meeg mumbling something about giant spiders in his sleep. Hatious quietly laughed, and said,

"I mean that your light powers develop based off your personality, what you do most."

"So, hypothetically, if I used magic, like you, I would gain powers based off spells?"

"Not quite. It reflects off of your actions, what is in your heart, how you help or hinder others." Just then, Meeg sat up, screaming,

"DON'T LET THE SPIDERS GET ME!" He just sat there for five seconds before going back to a sound sleep. Kain said,

"I guess those spiders we've encountered have done a number on him, huh?"

"Maybe you could do something to alleviate his fears, Kain."

"Perhaps, perhaps someday."


	22. Chapter 19: Magic

When the group finally arrived at Melmond, nobody greeted them. In fact, no one was out. Not even any animals.

"Where the heck is everyone?" Meeg asked. Before either Kain or Hatious could answer, they heard a woman screaming. They ran over to where the scream came from. They got through some trees and saw a man kneeling over a woman. He was close to her neck. Blood seemed to be dripping onto the ground. The man turned to look at them, strangely fast, so fast in fact, he seemed to blur. Kain realized what was going on and said,

"That's the vampire, get back!" Just as he finished saying that, the vampire jumped towards them. Kain took out his sword. As everybody jumped back, Kain swung at the vampire as he was midair. The blade seemed to go right through the vampire, not harming it. Meeg yelled out,

"Whoa, this is crazy! What's going on?" Kain yelled back,

"Hatious, take Meeg and get out of here!" Kain slashed at the vampire, but the vampire's razor sharp claws deflected the blow. Hatious yelled out,

"Are you sure Kain? We can help! Besides, it's-"

"Just go!" Kain yelled as he blocked another claw strike. Hatious and Meeg ran back towards safety.

Kain started swinging his sword rapidly and trying to beat the vampire with his shield. The vampire dodged each hit with supernatural speed. Kain tried every trick he knew, but nothing worked. The vampire came right up in front of Kain, punched his sword and shield out of his hand, and grabbed Kain around the shoulders. The vampire started inching his head towards Kain's neck. Kain pushed his hands against the Vampire's shoulders, but it seemed to have superhuman strength. Just before it could do anything, the Sun showed its first beam of the day. The Vampire hissed and his completely white skin started to smoke. He seemed to fly to the shade and went towards town. Kain ran after it, and he got to its destination just in time. He saw it go into the cellar doors. Kain noticed that most houses were made of stone, and somewhat small. Dead patches of old farming dirt were all over town. Hatious and Meeg went up to Kain. Hatious said,

"Kain I meant to tell you, it's impossible to even touch a vampire without magic! You can't physically harm it!"

"How am I supposed to use magic?" Hatious turned to Meeg and held his hand out.

"What, I didn't steal anything!" Just then, Meeg's pocket started on fire.

"All right, all right, geez!" Jumping up and down and patting the small flame on his pocket, he pulled out a small pouch similar to the one with the nitro powder. Hatious took it and handed it to Kain.

"What is it, sir?"

"Open it and see, my boy" Kain untied the small string. It fell open and in there were three beast fangs. One crimson, one azure, and one pure milk-white. Hatious said,

"I collected these many years ago. They are what started me on magic. You can have them now. I no longer need them."

"How do I use them?"

"There is only one way, now. They used to work just by having them, but I have absorbed most of their power. Crush them in your hand." Kain did so, and he was surrounded with a blue, red and white glow, which then flew into his body.

"You see, my boy! You've wanted magic this whole time and now you've got it! Try using some spells!" Kain closed his eyes and concentrated. He thought of the red fang. He opened his eyes and swung his sword forward. A well sized fireball (At least the size of a troll's head) went toward a bail of hay, lighting it on fire.

"Excellent! Now, Kain, put it out!" Kain closed his eyes and concentrated on the white fang, thinking about snow. He swung his sword forward, but instead of launching snow, a row lightning bolts came down, adding to the fire.

"Ehh… not exactly, Kain. Try again." Kain thought finally of the blue fang, thinking of either water or ice. He struck forward, and from the sky came several small balls of ice. They seemed to freeze the fire instead of putting it out. It was literally frozen fire, in a solid ice prison. Meeg jumped, and said,

"Whoa whoa, I've seen magic before, but what in the name of Chaos was that?" Hatious chuckled and said,

"Meeg, you should know. Magic has no bounds." Even Kain was taken aback.

"I see that, Hatious. These powers will defeat the Vampire?"

"Yes, Kain. Don't use too much power at once, or you risk weakening yourself, leaving yourself vulnerable to the Vampire." Meeg took out his knife and said,

"All right! Let's take on some old Vampires!" Hatious said,

I'm sorry Meeg, but this is a test for Kain and Kain alone. We cannot accompany him." Meeg sadly sheathed his knife. Kain's eyes widened.

"Sir?" Hatious looked Kain in the eyes and quietly said,

"You'll see what I mean soon. I know you can win, my boy!" Kain nodded to Hatious. He turned around and started walking to the cellar entrance. Meeg called out,

"Hey Kain…" Kain turned around.

"Yes, Meeg?"

"… Bring back a snack?" Hatious laughed at Meeg's comment and Kain smiled.

"Oh yeah, and uh, don't die on us!" Meeg added on.

"I won't." Kain opened the door and went down into the dimly lit cellar.

_"Sir Garland, is it true a vampire is in Melmond?"_

_ "Why do you ask such a trivial question, boy?"_

_ "I just thought, perhaps if they do exist, one day we could run into one, and we would have to fight it." _

_ "How keen of you, Kain. What a surprising twist…"_

_ "So, are they real, or myth?"_

_ "If we do across one, allow me to deal with it. You would be instantly slaughtered." Kain was not exactly shocked by Sir Garland's lack of faith in him._


	23. Chapter 20: Don't B-Negative

Kain could barely see in the darkness of the cellar. He tried feeling around. He felt wooden crates and old rope in the large room. He felt cobwebs through his gloves and brushed them off. By the walls, he saw a fragmented silhouette moving among the shadows. Suddenly, he heard a deep, accented voice say,

"Four more today…" It seemed to echo off the walls, and be coming from all around.

"Where are you? Show yourself!" Kain yelled out. The voice resumed,

"Perhaps six tomorrow…" The vampire emerged from the shadows, seemingly floating. It was right in front of Kain. It sniffed.

"Hmm… you are very ripe… prime age, even… thirty-four years… Perfect. Yet… there is something strange about your time…" Kain again wondered about this mysterious comment on time, similar to what Astos had said. The Vampire ceased floating and took a step forward. Only now could Kain see the Vampire's attire. He wore black pants and shoes. He also wore an old tuxedo. He wore a red and black cape. It sniffed again and said,

"186 pounds… perfect weight for circulation." The Vampire seemed to be licking its lips. Kain saw a forked tongue and two sharp fangs. It continued,

"Best of all… B-negative… my favorite!" The Vampire leapt toward Kain. Kain rolled to the left, thought of the red fang, and launched a small fireball at the vampire. In the short moment the fireball lit up the room, Kain saw dozens of dead, bleeding rats on the ground. The Vampire must have fed on them during the day. The fireball hit the Vampire. The cape caught on fire. He yelled out, unhooked his cape and threw it away. Luckily it didn't hit any of the old wood. The Vampire clawed at Kain. Kain caught the claws with his shield then used his spare hand to launch some ice balls at the Vampire. It knocked the beast down. Kain then summoned a small bolt of lightning to strike the vampire. It hit it, ripping a hole right through its chest. The Vampire seemed to be dead. But after a brief moment, it stood up at light speed and grabbed Kain's sword, preparing to strike. Kain got frustrated.

"What? Still not enough?! I'm out of energy!" The Vampire smirked, saying,

"It was a fun fight. Better than I've had in years." Kain thought to himself,

_I'm getting tired, and he's got my sword! I won't last long, he's as fast as light! Wait…. Light… Light!"_

_ "_Too bad it has to end now!" The Vampire pointed Kain's own sword at him. Kain jumped into the air and he started glowing. He held out his shield. Just as the vampire leaped toward Kain, Kain flung his shield forward. But instead of just blocking the strike, a large circle of pure light came out, extending the shield. The vampire ran into it like it was a wall. Kain punched his spare hand forward, and a beam of light came from his shield. The vampire was launched forward, and before he even hit the wall, he incinerated, Kain's sword clanging on the ground.


	24. Chapter 21: A Doctor's Woes

Kain emerged from the cellar and immediately blocked the burning light with his hand. Hatious laughed.

"Great job, my boy! I've already sent Meeg to bring the shipwright. He should be here within the hour!"

"Sir, you were right! I'm getting better with my light powers!"

"Ha ha! Good for you, my boy! One day, you'll be able to even take on Chaos!"

"That is, if he existed." Just then, Meeg came running onto the scene with the shipwright. The shipwright, panting, said,

"Wow… fast… little guy." He cleared his throat. "So, you beat the Vampire?" Kain said,

"Yes, you can now repair the ship." Kain quickly realized something.

"Oh, Meeg, Hatious, follow me!" Meeg and Hatious followed Kain as he ran into a wooded area. Kain went to where the injured woman was. He saw a man in a white coat and black pants giving her some kind of vial.

"Who are you?" Kain inquired. The man, not turning around, said,

"I heard what you did to that Vampire. Thank the gods you came along. That solves one of our problems, but we still have infertile land. Digressing, I'm trying my best to assist this woman. I can still save her in time if I'm quick. Vampire poison spreads fast." He poured the vial into the wound and it sealed it.

"That should do it." He turned around and took off a surgical mask and said,

"I'm Doctor Unne. Nice to meet you." He and Kain shook hands.

"She'll be alright?" Kain asked.

"Yes. She'll have neck pains for a while and possibly headaches, but she'll live."

"Good to know." Kain said. Doctor Unne looked down at the ground and somberly said,

"That Vampire has killed at least a dozen of us, my colleagues included. It's a good thing you came along when you did, or… I don't even want to think about that."

"So what is it I've been hearing about this town? Why is it in so much trouble?"  
"Ever since we lost the Crystal, the land started dying. We've always been a farm town. It started getting difficult to grow things, until it was impossible. Farming is all we have, I'm afraid." Kain reassuringly said,

"Don't worry, we're on a journey to fix all that. I'm Kain, a Cornelian knight. The imp is Meeg, and that is Hatious, king of Cornelia." Unne seemed shocked,

"The king? Why is he with you?" Hatious walked up and said,

"I'm not really the leader here, that would be Kain. I'm just helping." Meeg added in,

"Yeah, and I'm the sidekick. Kain really is the 'main character', as I guess you could say." Unne smiled and said,

"Well, good luck in saving the world. Here, take this." He handed Kain a small vial of perpetually bubbling purple liquid. Unne said,

"Anti-venom. Just in case." Kain took it and gave it to Hatious, who placed it in his robe pocket. Kain said to Unne,

"Thank you, I'm sure it will come in handy." Meeg said,

"I guess it'll advance the plot kinda like the gun did. I guess we'll just wait and see." The trio walked off and sailed back to the port in their canoe. Kain asked the shipwright,

"So how long will it take to repair?"

"About… now."

"How is that possible?"

"Turns out the damage was not nearly as bad as you thought." Meeg, whose cheeks were flushing, said,

"Heh, yeah, I might've overreacted a bit." The shipwright continued,

"As thanks for saving us from the vampire, you can keep the canoe; we don't need it anyway."

"Thank you for the gift. It will help us greatly, I'm sure." With that, Kain, Meeg and Hatious put the canoe in the ship's cargo hold and went back up to the bow. Meeg went up to Hatious, who was at the wheel, and asked,

"So, uh. After we go give the nitro powder to the dwarves at their cave, where to?" Hatious replied,

"We must go out to the western hemisphere and search for the Earth Cave. There, we will take the crystal to be restored." Kain took out the Crystal and observed its dull rockiness. There was just a moment where the Crystal seemed to glow a pale yellow. Hatious noticed and said,

"Ah, you see that, my boy? The glow?" Meeg happily noted,

"Made it look almost valuable." Hatious explained,

"We're already close to the cave. If we can take it to its pedestal, we can power it back up, thus restoring the land!" Kain, confused, said,

"How will putting it on a pedestal power it up? And even if we can get there, it can't be as simple as just laying it down."

"Oh, no it won't be simple. The pedestals have magic properties. Properties filled with the power of earth." Meeg jumped in saying,

"Yeah, cool, cool. What's the catch?"

"The 'catch', as you say, Meeg, is that the former guardian of the crystal is now evil, and instead of guarding the crystal, it guards the pedestal, stopping any who dare to revive the land." Kain was still confused.

"Sir, I've read old manuscripts about Chaos, but I've never heard of these guardians. What are they?" Hatious stepped away from the wheel and sat down on a barrel. Meeg plopped down on the deck and Kain sat on a crate. Hatious said,

"It is a long story. Are you prepared to listen?" Kain and Meeg looked at each other, then looked back at Hatious and nodded.

"Alright. Years and years ago, when the Crystals were strong and magic was a common ability, there was land known as Lufenia. The Lufenians were very technologically advanced. They were able to make things float with ancient machinery, made of metal. It was the perfect blend of science, nature, and magic. Legend says they even built artificial life. One of these examples is the four guardians of the Crystals. Lich, guardian of earth, Marilith, guardian of fire, Kraken, guardian of water, and Tiamat, guardian of air. After a 500 year war between Chaos worshippers and peace god worshippers, a story which I'm sure you're familiar with, the guardians changed. The part of the story you never read happens after Chaos's side won, but before they were punished. Chaos himself turned the guardians into Fiends. Rumor has it that Chaos appeared in person 3000 years ago, and a large battle ensued between him and a Warrior of Light. The warrior was defeated, which allowed the Crystals to be drained and scattered. The Fiends guarded any hope of revival. Chaos punished his own worshippers for stripping him of his pleasure, and Chaos was never seen again." Meeg, for the first time, actually seemed concerned. He said in a tone of voice Kain had never heard him use,

"So you're saying that… Chaos is… returning?" Hatious was silent for a moment, sighed, then said,

"I don't know Meeg. It seems Garland was trying to recreate the event when he kidnapped my daughter. The whole war started because the good king's daughter was kidnapped. The Chaos side wanted a ransom: The entire treasury of Lufenia and all its vast weapons. When Lufenia refused, they murdered the princess. The war began there." Kain was finding the whole thing hard to keep track of. Kain said,

"But Garland told me he wanted to get revenge on you for taking him from his family. He had no intention of killing your daughter." Even Hatious seemed to be losing track. Hatious didn't say anything for a while. He finally ended up saying,

"Well, it's getting dark out. I must rest. Kain, my boy, will you take the wheel?" Kain stood up.

"Yes sir. Where do I sail?"

"Up north to Mount Duerger, home of the dwarves." Hatious slowly got up off of the barrel and walked into the dormitory. Hatious said to Kain,

"Wake me if we run into trouble or if we arrive." Kain nodded and walked up to the wheel. Meeg stretched his arms and while doing so, said,

"Yep, I think I'm a' hit the sack, too." Meeg just sat on the deck and fell on his back.

"But, I'm too tired to move…" Meeg closed his eyes and fell asleep right there on the deck. Kain had too much going through his mind to sleep. He focused on sailing north, to give the dwarves nitro powder. He didn't know here they'd go afterwards, though they'd figure it out.


	25. Chapter 22: The Warrior of Light

After nearly two hours of sailing, Kain was drifting off himself. He was wondering about the warrior who lost to Chaos 3000 years past. If events were recreating themselves and Kain was becoming a light warrior, was he destined to battle a reborn Chaos? Was it his destiny to lose? Perhaps Garland had planned this all. Perhaps that's what he meant by destiny. Though Garland did say his own destiny failed him. Had Garland been lying? And what had he lied about? What had he been truthful of? And for that matter, which side represented who? Was Kain on the right side, making the right choices, or…

_Kain was silent as he walked with Garland through the forest. He was contemplating if Sir Garland's decision to slaughter the forest imps was truly right. Kain decided to speak up._

_ "Sir Garland? A word if I may?"_

_ "What is it, boy?"_

_ "Was…was it proper of you to kill all the forest imps?" Garland stopped in his tracks, and Kain almost stumbled. _

_ "Are you questioning my ethics, squire?"_

_ "N-no, sir! I- I just thought-"_

_ "Thought what? That their lives had meaning? That they felt the pain when they were run through? Think, boy, had I not done this, they would have stolen all our supplies!" Kain slinked downward, as if it would hide him._

_ "I'm sorry, sir…" _

_ "Do you know your place, now, boy?" Kain nodded, and the two continued their trek._


	26. Chapter 23: The Leviathan

In the middle of deep thought, Kain heard Meeg rustling in his sleep. Meeg was repeatedly turning and tossing, and Kain heard him say something about spiders. Kain figured Meeg must have been having another spider nightmare so he decided to go over to him and wake him up. Kain walked up to him and crouched down. He shook his shoulders. Meeg stopped moving, and quietly said,

"Please please please don't inject your venom into me, Mr. giant spider." Kain simply said,

"Meeg, I promise I won't inject venom into you. By the way, my name's not Mr. giant spider." Meeg opened his eyes and looked at Kain

"Oh Kain it's just you. Thanks for wakin' me. I hate spiders. I really do." Kain said,

"It's no problem. Besides, I'm sure we'll find a way to get over this fear." Meeg stood up and asked,

"What time is it, anyway?"

"According to the stars' position, it's around two."

"Wh-"

"Where are we? About twelve kilometers away from Mount Duerger."

"Wow, Kain, you really know me."

"You are my friend, Meeg." Meeg still seemed surprised, even after all the time.

"Y'know, that really does mean a lot to me Kain. No one liked me back in my village. I was really just doing them a favor."

"Oh really, now? How is that?"

"Well, I figure that everyone's possessions will be lost at one point or another, so I took 'em and sold 'em for money before the loss hurt people. Course the village chief didn't see it that way. That's why I got banished."

"What do you think know, Meeg?

"If ya weren't my friend, that sword of yours would be cash in my pockets right now. But you're lucky!" Kain smiled and said,

"Hopefully those skills of yours will come in handy later on."

"Well, you do know I-"

"Can steal anything not bolted down and on fire?" Kain and Meeg started laughing at that. After a minute or two of laughing, Meeg put on a serious expression then said,

"Hey Kain, you ever miss your family?"

"… My family died when I was very young."

"Oh, yeah, that's right." To lift up the awkward silence, Kain said,

"What about your family, Meeg? Did you know them?"

"I, uh, I try to forget them. They weren't exactly the loving type. That, and they were viciously murdered by some maniac around 17 years ago…" Kain nearly gasped out loud, remembering a distant memory he thought he'd forgotten. He decided not to tell Meeg, fearing how he may respond. Meeg seemed to almost nod to himself.

"Yep, brutal memories. At least we have a peaceful moment now, right?" There was suddenly a loud crash. The ship rocked back in forth in the water. Meeg started frowning.

"I just had to jinx it, didn't I?" Kain ran back to the wheel and tried steering. The ship wouldn't even turn.

"Did we hit another rock or somethin'?" Meeg asked. As if to answer Meeg's question, a super sized, cerulean scaled sea serpent came out of the water and looked right down at Kain and Meeg. Its eyes were a glowing green, practically the only thing they could see outside of the moon and starlight. Its teeth were very sharp. It must have been large, as all they could see was its neck and head, which towered over the ship. Kain took out his sword and shield and yelled,

"Meeg, get Hatious tell him we're in trouble!" Meeg nodded and ran to the dormitory Hatious was sleeping in. Kain stepped back and prepared to fight the giant beast.


	27. Chapter 24: No Doctors

Before Kain could do anything, however, the whole ship was lifted into the air! The monster was using its body to lift the ship! Its face looked down at Kain, singling him out. It lurched its head forward and lunged at Kain. Kain hopped back and struck at the monster's snout. He barely did anything, but at least he cut it. The monster made another lunge at Kain. Kain put his shield in front of his face to absorb the impact. It knocked Kain down and the monster bit at Kain's leg. The armor was strong enough to prevent a lot of pain, but the monster still penetrated it and managed to bite Kain's leg. Kain thought of the white fang, then summoned a row of lightning bolts down on the leviathan. It shocked the monster, which caused it to release its grip and retreat. It dropped the ship, which landed in the water with a huge splash. Kain got back up and went to the starboard edge to look out into the water. He saw giant blue dorsal fins moving through the water, and got into a ready stance. Just then Meeg came running out with Hatious. Meeg said in a panicked voice,

"What's with all the shakin' and stirrin' here, Kain?!" Kain said back,

"Leviathan, look!" He pointed to where the fin was circling the ship. Hatious said,

"Kain, Meeg, stand back." The two did so. Hatious pointed at the water, causing it to swirl all around. Hatious called out,

"Kain, use the blue fang!" Kain held his own hand out and summoned some chunks of ice down to the water. They simply impacted on the surface of the water. Hatious yelled out,

"Not… good enough!" Kain said,

"Sir, I'm sorry! I'm not… strong enough!" Obviously struggling, Hatious used his other hand to send out streams of ice, which froze the water. Hatious was sweating all over. He put both his hands in the air, and with a scream, he summoned a giant boulder to crush the ice, with the leviathan frozen in it. Hatious was panting, and didn't seem very sturdy. Meeg said,

"Wow, you were pretty good!" Hatious didn't respond. Kain was concerned.

"Sir, are you all right?" Hatious turned to Kain and said,

"Kain. I'll… I'm-" Hatious fell down to the deck. Meeg knelt down next to him and felt for a pulse. Kain dropped his sword and shield and ran over to him.

"SIR! Are you okay?" Meeg said,

"Got a pulse, he's breathing, but something's wrong. I… I dunno!" Kain ran up to the wheel and said,

"Crescent Lake is just around that hill, we'll take him to the clinic there! Meeg, you make sure he's okay!" Kain spun the wheel and turned around the bend, heading to the lake. He docked at the port. He went over the Hatious and Meeg.

"How is he?" Meeg looked worried.

"Same as before, just being around him feels weird." Kain picked Hatious up and jumped off the ship. Landing on the leg where the leviathan had bitten him, he gave way and fell to the ground with a yelp of pain. Kain quickly stood back up and picked up Hatious. Meeg followed and they started running to the town. They got near the lake and found the town. Kain yelled out,

"Anybody! Help! We have an injured man here! It's the king of Cornelia!" Many houses' lights came on and people started walking outside. Kain and Meeg ran into the clinic with Hatious. Kain set Hatious down on the table. Meeg said,

"I'll go get a doctor!" Meeg ran out of the room. Kain checked Hatious' pulse and breathing. Everything was fine. What was wrong?! Meeg ran back in and said,

"No doctors!" Kain literally yelled back,

"What?! How can they not have a doctor in a town with a clinic?!"

"I don't KNOW!" Hatious seemed to wake up. With a groan, he said,

"Uggh, Kain… Meeg…" His voice was barely audible. Kain turned around and Meeg jumped up on the table. Kain said,

"Yes, sir?" Hatious looked Kain in the eye and said,

"I have used the last of my power. You must go on… without me." Meeg said,

"Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down, old man, you're gonna live!" Hatious quietly chuckled at Meeg.

"I've always, found your personality… quite humorous, Meeg. But for me… once a mage… always a mage…" Kain, who was now trembling, said,

"What do you mean, sir?" Hatious explained.

"All mages only have so much magical energy in their bodies. Once it's spent… it's spent…" Kain asked,

"What are you saying?" His voice was starting to break.

"Kain, my… boy. I only had so much energy left. I am 93 years old, you know. I was saving it for when I could… use it for… a good purpose. I saved it for… my final journey. I've taught you… all I can." Kain said,

"But sir, there's still so much I want to learn from you! I've just started, there's so much I don't understand!" Meeg was completely silent. Hatious, now even quieter, said,

"What you need… will come to you… when you need it… most."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Kain… I've always looked to you… as a son…" Hatious put his hand on Kain's shoulder. He continued,

"You are a Warrior of… Light. History… is a circle."

"Sir…" Hatious turned to Meeg.

"You, Meeg…" Hatious gave a barely audible laugh. "You haven't made a single joke." Awkwardly, Meeg replied,

"Well, uh… You're dying."

"Meeg, never stop… doing your thing…" Hatious closed his eyes and his hand fell off of Kain's shoulder. Barely audibly, he said,

"Kain, Meeg, it's… up to you… now…"

"Don't say that…" Even Kain's voice was trembling now.

"Go to the… Sage's Circle… revive the Crystals… save… the world…"

"I have faith in you… my… boy…" Hatious reached his hand down to Kain's leg, and magically healed the wound from the leviathan. Hatious' hand went limp. He had just enough energy to say,

"Be… the Warrior… of… Light… remember… light, Kain…" No more words came from Hatious after that. Kain stood there blankly for a second, Meeg jumped off the table and sat down on a chair. Kain turned around, lowered his head and closed his eyes. He removed his helmet and let it hit the floor. A tear burned in the corner of his eye, and there was a quiet sound behind him. When he turned to look, Hatious's body was gone. In it's place was as small pouch. The bag of nitro powder. Meeg went up to Kain. Meeg's eyes looked bigger and blacker than ever. He quietly said,

"Kain, we… better get goin'…" Kain and Meeg walked outside of the clinic and went to the lake, the namesake of the town. Kain and Meeg looked out over the large crescent shaped lake. An old man approached them. In a deep voice, he said,

"One dear to you has been lost…" Kain and Meeg turned around.

"What would you know of it?" Kain sternly asked. The old man's face came out of the shadows. A man with a very defined face, with a long gray beard said,

"I am Lukahn, leader of the Circle of Sages."


	28. Epilogue

_It has been a hard journey. The quest is just beginning. Kain and Meeg have taken the first step into a larger world. After learning that ancient history is closing a loop as old as time itself, Kain is more ready than ever to save the world. Mystery after mystery stack atop one another, this world crisis growing more immediate by the minute. Kain and Meeg await the wisdom of the Circle of Sages, attempting to find the location of the Cavern of Earth. Light seems to be the main thing Cornelia's king taught to Kain. For Hatious, this has been his ultimate illusion._


End file.
